The Way Back Home Epilogue Chapters
by Rustic Capitals
Summary: Follow up chapters to my last story "The Way Back Home"
1. Chapter 1

**The Bet**

Amy was putting John to bed while Ricky had spread his work out all over the living room couch. His mind was so focussed on his computer that he almost didn't hear Amy walk into the living room, holding a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

She set the beer down beside the computer he was working on, and shifted some papers off the couch so she can take a seat beside him. She tucked her feet under her and ran a hand up and down his back.

 _"_ _Maybe it's time you call it a night"_ She said looking over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

He managed to tear his eyes away from his computer to give her a quick kiss on the temple.

" _Sorry, I know works been crazy lately. But I think it's going to be another long night_ " He grabbed the cold bottle and took a sip " _Thanks for this_ " He said clinking it against her own glass.

Landing the Below Zero account had opened a lot of doors for him and his team. Since they've launched their ad campaign a lot of big names have been knocking on their door, interested in their style of marketing. But more 'high end' clients, meant more time at work and less time with his family, which Ricky was starting to feel guilty about. He knew he didn't have to put in so much hours into his work. But his attention to detail and newly found perfectionist trait had resulted in him being selected as the unofficial project manager of his team. Once he's started on something he couldn't let it go. He would tweak and re-tweak it until he was satisfied. So while the other 4 members of his team headed to the bar after clocking in an 8 hour day, he stayed back or took work home with him – despite his team protesting against it. He couldn't help it. He felt personally responsible for the success of each and every project they took on.

Luckily Amy had been more than understanding through all of it. She had been his biggest cheerleader, giving him prep talks right before some of his biggest meetings. She knew how important his projects were to him, how important it was that others understood his vision. She felt the same way about her writing. Sometimes your mind envisions one thing but to get that thought, that feeling down on paper so that others can understand your vision, wasn't always so easy. Getting from idea to final product always took a lot of time and effort.

She laid her head down against his shoulder as she played with the hair on the back of his neck and took a sip of wine.

Ricky decided to take a break from work and leaned back onto the couch, pulling Amy towards him. He took the wine glass from her hand and set it down on the table beside the couch, which was also covered in paper. Amy cuddled up beside him, leaning her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head before taking another sip of beer. They sat like that in silence for a while, until Ricky finally spoke.

" _How was your day? Did you finish the article you've been working on?_ "

 _"_ _Yeah, I sent it off to my editor this afternoon before I picked up John. How did you meeting go?"_

 _"_ _Well we're playing golf with them on Saturday so I'm assuming it went well"_

" _Golf?"_ Amy couldn't help herself from laughing "Oh good, _maybe they can teach you frat boys a thing or two about proper etiquette"_

" _Don't' worry – me and the guys have hockey practice that night so whatever high class decorum we pick up during the day will all be lost by the end of the night_ "

Amy still sometimes couldn't get over this new Ricky. Not that he's changed all the much. In some ways, he was still the same Ricky she had met in high school, but now he seemed so much more mature. He also appeared to be more laid back and at ease. She remembered how she always felt the need to tip toe around him, in case something she said or did got him mad or upset. Now it was almost like it was the other way around. When little things would frustrate her, he would be the one to calm her down and tell her to let it go. Not only that, he was also working hard to make something for himself, which Amy couldn't be more proud of him for. Not to mention his new found interest in hockey.

She still remembered almost being in shock when she found out he played in a rec team with some of the guys at work.

 _"_ _Since when do you play hockey?"_

" _One of the pre requisite of the job"_ he had told her. _"You need to have interesting hobbies as a conversation starter. In this job, you kind of have to hold an interest in everything. That way once you find out what a client is interested in you have something to talk about"_

 _"_ _Well you can't possibly know about everything"_

 _"_ _Which is exactly why you need to have some type of hobby. In those cases you bring it back to you. So for example, a client wants to talk cricket, which I know nothing about so I say in response, I'm sorry I don't know much about cricket, I'm more of a hockey guy myself. Plus there's always perks, like clients gifting us awesome seats to games"_

 _"_ _Okay who are you?"_ She had asked when she still couldn't believe it, and he just laughed it off.

Not that she minded. The hockey thing has really put him in amazing shape. She still can't believe how toned he's gotten.

" _Oh crap I almost forgot. Tomorrow night, I'm going to be home late_ " He told her resting his chin on her head. He placed the now empty bottle on the table beside the wine glass.

" _Where you going?"_ She asked, not moving.

 _"_ _Uh okay, don't laugh though"_

This time, she sat up ready to hear the most ridiculous explanation. After getting to know some of the guys Ricky worked with, very little things surprised her anymore. They seem to be always getting themselves in the most ridiculous situation. Everything came down to a bet with those guys, and some of it has started to rub off on their now 8 year old son. " _Dad I bet you two cookies I can get this in the trash can from here_ " He would say, and Ricky would grin and egg him on.

She raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. She noticed his cheeks had turned red. Oh this one is going to be good, she thought.

 _"_ _Brett and I are going down to the fire hall"_ He said sheepishly.

 _"_ _Because….?"_

" _Because Brett and I were on the loosing team of this ad spread competition. We couldn't decide on a concept for the ad so we ended up splitting into two groups and presenting two polar opposite ideas. Needless to say, the company went with the Jake's proposal"_ He wasn't all that upset, he and Brett wanted to push the boundaries, they offered something completely new. While, the execs really liked their proposal, they didn't think now was a good time for a change. The company decided to go for the safe and familiar route, which is what Jakes team presented. You win some, you lose some.

" _So how does this lead to you and Brett going down to the fire hall…oh god Ricky please don't tell me you're going to like steal a fire truck or something equally illegal_ "

 _"_ _Amy of course not, don't be ridiculous"_ He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking forward to continuing. But he had to tell her _"We're signing up to volunteer"_

 _"_ _Volunteer for what? Their community bake sale?"_

" _Fireman_ "

It was a good thing Amy was no longer sipping her wine, or she would have for sure spat it out.

" _WHAT!_?"

 _"_ _Yeah whoever lost had to sign up to volunteer"_

" _Ricky…honestly?"_ She said. Of all the stupid things those guys were always up to, this one definitely topped the cake. " _Can you JUST volunteer for that?"_ She asked still pretty appalled.

 _"_ _No. Really though we're just going to sign up and that's probably going to be the end of that. I mean from what I hear there's some sort of fitness test you have to do. And if you pass that you still have to pass some rigorous training they put you through. I'm sure they'll take one look at us and give us the boot before we even get to do that test. Then we can all put this stupid thing behind us"_ He tried to act nonchalant to reassure her that this was not a big deal.

Amy just stared at him still with the most bewildered look on his face.

 _"_ _I know, I know"_ He knew exactly what she was thinking, probably something along the lines of why she had gotten back with him in the first place.

 _"_ _Okay, I know you guys like to have fun at work, but this is a little much. People who sign up for that, take that role very seriously"_

Ricky sighed. He knew that, and it wasn't like he meant to make a mockery of something like this. He knew it was an important job and people who do are passionate about what they do, and are basically heroes. Sometimes he doesn't realize what he and the guys get themselves into until it's too late.

 _"_ _Like I said, it'll be over before it begins"_

" _Then what? You're going to sign up for the police force?"_ Sometimes she just didn't understand how guys can be so ridiculous. Everything was a joke with them.

 _"_ _Can we just hang out and enjoy this quiet time together? I have a lot of things I need to get done tonight and I just want to spend some time with you sans the argument before I have to get back to it again"_

Amy sighed. He was right. She knew she was starting to get really worked up. But sometimes she worry at how far they take these little bets of theirs. Hopefully Ricky was smart enough to not get himself in anything dangerous or worst, something that would get him into trouble. Not that she think he would -but the pack mentality with those guys were pretty strong and sometimes they take things beyond reason.

 _"_ _Alright"_ she said leaning back into him _"Tell me about these new clients"._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Bet: Part 2**

Amy was finishing an article when she heard Ricky coming home. John was already in bed.

" _Hey how did your little bet go?"_ She asked not looking up from her typing

" _Um well I passed"_

" _What_?" She looked up from the computer and noticed Ricky was holding some navy coloured fabric in one hand

 _"_ _The test…well we both did. Brett and I passed the fitness test_ "

 _"_ _You're kidding"_ But she could tell from his face he wasn't

With a sheepish grin, he held up the navy fabric which turned out to be a shirt with the Glen Valley California Fire Department emblem on the top right corner.

 _"_ _Ricky…"_ She was actually speechless.

Ricky moved towards her and knelt in front of her putting his hands on her knees.

 _"_ _Listen I know it started out as just this bet, but I really think I can do this."_

 _"_ _Be a firefighter?"_ She was caught completely off guard.

" _I mean it's just volunteer right? They'll only need us to do a few shifts a month, just as emergency backup. Or during the times when they don't have enough guys on staff_ "

" _Ricky_ " Amy started, but he cut her off.

 _"_ _I mean we did this tour and this guy, Jon showed us around the fire hall. They let us touch the equipment and get into the trucks…And the test we had to do, I'm not going to lie it was hard work, but it felt good you know, doing the course. I found myself actually enjoying it"_

Amy stared at the man in front of her in complete amazement. He was serious about this. As in completely. His eyes practically lit up as he spoke. What choice did she have but to support him?

She touched his chin with her finger _"Ricky, if it's what you really want to do then go for it. But something like this…it's real commitment. It's not a joke Ricky"_

" _I know Amy. I know how serious this is. I'm actually pretty serious about it. I assure you this has nothing to do with that stupid bet anymore_ "

Amy couldn't help but sigh, she saw the determined look on his face.

 _"_ _Then I think you're going to make an amazing volunteer fireman_ " She smiled down at him as she cupped his cheek with one hand.

Later that night, lying in bed Ricky eagerly recounted every detail about the tour and fitness test at the fire hall. He spoke in awe about the guys he met and some of the stories they told during the short orientation they had. Amy listened intently in the dark, offering simple encouraging phrases " _oh yeah_?" she would say after Ricky would pause, or " _oh that sounds intense_ ". She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Hearing the passion in his voice, she could tell that Ricky has surprised even himself, at how passionate he now felt about this. She didn't exactly understand where all this passion all of a sudden came from. He went from this man who ran away from things, to someone who poured his soul into everything he did. From his work, to hockey, to being an amazing boyfriend and now this. She didn't think it was possible, but she felt herself falling even more in love with him. And she couldn't help but feel like the luckiest girl alive. Her boyfriend, the new up and coming marketing hot shot, who also played hockey and now was a volunteer firefighter. It was a resume that would make any girl blush.

 _"_ _Know something?"_ She said after a while, not sure if Ricky had fallen asleep.

 _"_ _hmm?"_ He wasn't sleeping, but was still thinking about how his day went.

 _"_ _I'm really proud of you"_

His chest swelled with emotion. There were very few times in his life where he heard those words directed at him. Mostly people were constantly just waiting for him to screw up, no matter how hard he tried to prove them wrong. If he failed at something, no one was ever surprise. Almost as if they were expecting him to screw up. " _Oh you'll get them next time kid_ " they would say to him. Until he met Amy. For a reason, he would never in his life figure out, she saw something in him. She believed in him before anyone ever did. Before he believed in himself. And he saw it in her face every time she looked at him. And when he did screw up – instead of the usual 'oh well' look he was used to, she would look disappointed. Like she expected more from him. And because of it, for the first time in his life he felt like he was actually capable of more. The pressure was too intense for him to deal with back then, and he usually never handled it well.

But now he was given a second chance to make it up to her. To repay her for everything she's done for him. And this time, he wasn't going to screw it up.

 _"_ _Thanks Amy"_ He smiled as he brushed his fingertips up and down her bare arms, his chin resting on top of her head. " _I love you so much",_ he whispered as he squeezed her tighter against him.

 _"_ _My boyfriend the firefighter. I think that's pretty sexy"_ She said teasingly

He chuckled " _It's just volunteer work. Let's not get ahead of ourselves_ " The shirt he got, had the word 'volunteer' in large white lettering going across the back.

In her mind, being a volunteer firefighter sounded even hotter _._

 _"_ _I don't know how I'll contain myself when I see you walking around in your blue shirt"_

" _I have a better idea, maybe you can walk around in it once in a while_ " He teased back kissing the top of her head. Though, not a bad thought, he silently thought to himself.

Her eyes suddenly felt heavy and she found herself drifting off to sleep. " _Yeah..."_ she yawned, and sank down lower onto the bed.

" _Night_ " Ricky whispered chuckling, kissing her head once again, knowing that she was falling asleep before he closed his eyes to do the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**Full of Surprises**

It was just after 10 am on Saturday. Amy and John were hanging out under a fort made out of blankets. He and Ricky had built it the night before and the three of them ended up having their dinner under there, telling 'spooky' stories, until John fell asleep. Amy was going to move John into his bed when Ricky suggested that they all have a slumber party there for the night. The fort was quite impressive consisting of at least 6 large blankets and took up half of John's room.

Now they were back under the blanket playing with the flashlights, shinning it on random areas around the fort just being silly together. Ricky had left earlier for his training with the fire academy.

 _"Can we keep this up forever"_ John asked shining the light on the top of the fort and swirling it around in random directions.

 _"Uh, maybe until the end of the weekend. But the fun thing is you and dad can build it again another day"_

Amy started chasing John's light with her own, making him giggle.

The muffled sound of a phone ringing interrupted their little game. The phone was somewhere in the fort blanket and she started searching around for it amidst all the blankets and pillows. It was John who found it tucked in the corner of the fort.

 _"It's Daddy"_ he said when he noticed his face pop up on the phone display.

 _"Go ahead, pick it up_ " Amy nodded, giving him permission.

 _"Dad?"_

 _"Hey bud, where's mom?"_

 _"She's here in the fort with me"_

 _"Oh still hanging out there huh?"_ Ricky chuckled, but his chest tightened slightly as he imagined the two of them just hanging out together, wishing he could join them. _"Hey I was thinking, how about you and me come watch Uncle Brett and Uncle Jake's hockey game tonight?"_

 _"Yah!"_ John exclaimed on the phone. He loved going to the hockey rink. He remembered going there with Adrian sometimes when she lived with them to watch his dad and his team play. He hasn't gone in a while since his dad didn't have time to play with the team anymore.

 _"Alright but we gotta ask mom, can you put her on?"_

John held the phone out to Amy who was listening to John's end of the conversation.

 _"Hey how's it going?"_ She asked after taking the phone.

 _"Good. Tiring, but good. We're on a break"_

 _"Well I'm glad you're enjoying it"_

 _"I can't talk long. I was just wondering if it would be okay to take John to the guy's game tonight. I know it's a Saturday night and I haven't been home much, but they made the semi-finals"_

 _"Sure, John would love that"_ She knew how hard it was for him to give up the hockey team. She also knew that most kids their age didn't have the same kind of responsibilities that they did, and she tried to make sure he still got to do the things guys who were only in their mid-twenties got to do. She also felt a little guilty that Brett was able to keep up with both the team and the fire academy, while Ricky felt he had to give something up. She didn't disagree, she would have been afraid of him burning out had he not given it up, but she still feel bad for him.

 _"Are you sure? I mean it's not that big of a deal, if you had something planned for us to do tonight"_

 _"No no you should go, you boys have fun"_

 _"Alright, I have to go, but I love you"_

Ricky raced home, pumped to watch his team play in the semi-finals. He opened the door to the apartment and noticed his hockey gear by the door.

Confused, he called out into the strangely quiet apartment. _"Hello? Anyone home?"_

Amy walked out of the room. "Hey, I tried getting a hold of you"

 _"What's happening? You throwing me out or something?"_ Referring to his stuff that were laying near the front door.

 _"Jake called me twice trying to get a hold of you, and I called you like 10 times"_

 _"Sorry my phone was in my locker, I hadn't had a chance to check it yet_ " There was a strict no phone policy at the academy. Which was made clear on the first day, when one of the guys phone rang while in his pocket. Needless to say, the chief made a pretty bold statement about how he felt about him violating the rule and the guy went home with his phone in pieces that day.

 _"Jason's ankle apparently hasn't gotten better and they have no one else. He wanted to know if you can sub for tonight. Since we couldn't get a hold of you, I just told him you'd be fine with playing tonight. I already pulled your uniform out for you"_

 _"What? Amy, I can't play tonight! It's the semi finals and I'm out of practice"_ He said almost in a panic.

 _"Relax Ricky it's a rec league not the Olympics. I'm sure they'll be happy to just have an uninjured player tonight"_

At that moment, John came out wearing an exact replica of his dad's jersey, a Christmas present from Jake's girlfriend. John was overjoyed when he opened it. She had made one for Jake's one year old niece and 4 year old nephew, and decided to make one for John as well. Jake's older brother also played on the team and the three of them watching in the stands sporting mini replicas of the guys jersey was a sight that made Amy's heart melt. The little girl, Stella wore her uncle Jakes number who was also her godfather, while her older brother Jack sported his father's number. Amy realized then just how tight their whole group was. She felt as though she somehow acquired a second set of family. It also gave her a sense of comfort that John had so many great people in his life, especially while she was away at school for four years.

 _"Are we leaving for the game now?"_ He asked

He looked at Amy who just gave him a knowing look. _"Yeah you're welcome"_ she couldn't help rolling her eyes, a gesture elicited by the goofy grin Ricky was wearing, at the realization he was actually going to get to play hockey with the guys.

Ricky took a quick glance at his watch and headed towards the bedroom. " _In a little bit buddy. I just have to go and get ready"_

He stopped by Amy, giving her a peck on the side of her head. " _I love you…you know, in case I don't say it enough_ "

Amy matched his smile with one of her own, giving his arm a squeeze. John had disappeared back into his room when he realize he had some more time to continue playing a game on his tablet.

 _"You better hurry out of that training shirt, before I change my mind and force you to stay in tonight_ " She whispered coyly referring to his grey fire brigade academy shirt that hugged his upper body showing off just how hard and defined his muscles had gotten, giving him a quick peck back on the cheek.

 _"Honesty, I don't know what I'd do without you"_ And he meant it. With all the things he had going on lately, he was sure he would have lost his mind by now had Amy not had been helping him keep everything together. Coming home to all his hockey gear packed and ready to go, after he's spent all day training was just one simple example of how much he relied on Amy on the littlest things. The fact that she just knew how happy he would be for a chance to play again, even just for one night was a different story entirely.

She broke the kiss, he had given her pushing at his chest a little, "Seriously go! Or you're not going to make it in time and all this adoring words of yours will be a moot point""Me adoring you is never a moot point" he said pulling away from her and turning into the room to get ready.

When he had disappeared into their room, she walked over to her computer to quickly check her email. As she waited for her computer to start up, she smiled at the thought of how happy her little life is right now. She liked playing this house wifey role. She liked taking care of her two boys and she didn't mind being the one to support Ricky as he navigated his way through his new career and new found passions in life. She knew that people, particularly girls her age would be quick to judge. That she was sacrificing her own needs and wants so that Ricky could persue what he wanted to do. But at the moment she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything. She was still writing, and since Ricky was taking care of them financially – there was no pressure to produce pieces. Her little online article project was almost like a hobby she had for herself while Ricky was at work and John was at school. She knew opportunities will come for her, but right now the opportunities were all knocking on Ricky's door, and she has absolutely no problem with that. The New York Times will just have to wait.

The sound of her computer starting up broke her thoughts and she logged into her email. She had 3 new mail since she checked a few hours ago. Two were junk mail, but one was from a person she's never heard of. Jane Shaw?

She clicked the email to open it.

 _Dear Ms. Jeurgens,_

 _I received your contact info from Dr. Leena Shanahan. My name is Jane Shaw founder of a new cultural magazine, "U National". The aim of the magazine is to generate discussions regarding global and international issues which currently plagues our society. We also look to highlight different communities and cultures globally, in order to educate the public about the diverse communities which exist all over the world._

 _Dr. Shanahan informed me that base on the work of your final thesis, you might be someone interested in a 3 week research project which will take place in Guatemala. If this is something you are interested in, please give me a call at my office 799 292 1938._

 _Looking forward to hearing from you,_

\- _Jane_

Her heart was practically beating out of her chest when she finished reading the email. Professor Shanahan had recommended her? For a research project in Guatemala? But she couldn't take it – could she? No, of course not, but then again this was exactly the type of opportunity she was just thinking about. But John and Ricky needed her. Especially now, with everything going on with Ricky's job and the fire brigade. As much as it'll break her heart, she had to turn it down.

 _"Alright ready?"_ Ricky said walking out of the room dressed in his hockey uniform " _JOHN"_ he called out, " _time to go bud!"_

 _"Okay yeah..."_ she stammered, flagging the email before shutting down her computer. She'll have to deal with this later. After all how does one say, thanks as much I would give my right arm to go, I'm going to have to say no thanks, without seeming ungrateful and possibly closing any chance at any future opportunities?

 _"Hey, you alright?"_ Ricky asked when he looked at Amy.

 _"Um yeah…just, got a weird email that's all. I'll tell you about it later"_

 _"From your editor?"_

" _No, no – nothing to do with that. I promise I'll tell you about it later, we don't have time to discuss it now"_

 _"You sure?"_ He said with worry in his voice.

 _"Yeah, it's fine"_ Her voice returning to normal as she quickly got it together and walked towards Ricky smiling at him. She straightened up his jersey around his shoulders

 _"Let's go hotshot, you have a game to win"._


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 2**

Ricky had fallen asleep almost immediately after they got home from the hockey game. She couldn't blame him. He had been up since 6am and spent the whole day doing rigorous training before coming home to find out that he was going to play a 90 minute hockey game. She insisted on driving home, and both boys fell asleep in the car. A sight that made not only her face smile, but her heart as well.

It was simple moments like these that made her appreciate her small little family. Simple moments like making breakfast together, or Ricky making coffee, while she got John ready for school, or watching the two boys skate together after one of Ricky's games, or seeing John sit on Ricky's lap while he showed him how his design program worked; heck watching the two of them do anything together really. Every day she fell a little bit more in love with her cute little family. It was the easy way the three of them worked as a unit that just made life seem so happy at the moment.

However, having a lot on her mind she had a really hard time falling asleep. She still didn't know how to respond to that email. Finally after restlessly tossing for several hours she got out of bed at around 2 am, poured herself a glass of wine and opened her computer.

She began googling that lady Jane Shaw and her magazine. What she found left her in complete and utter awe. Her google results showed images of her travelling through various different parts of the world, in communities she had no idea even existed. She read through an article about a small tribal community in Africa who still lived exactly the same way they did hundreds of years ago, with minimal influences from the rest of modern day society aside from a few reporters and journalist like herself, or tourist who knew about the tribe and wanted to see their way of life for themselves. She clicked on an interview she did with another magazine. She briefly read about her life growing up in a small community and having this 'itch' to do something bigger. Was this woman her journalism soul mate or what? And now she was given an opportunity to never mind travel with her, but be part of her latest research project? If this was life's idea of a bad joke, she sure wasn't laughing.

Ricky found her there more than an hour later.

"Amy? You alright babe?" he walked over to her, kissing the top of head.

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep" She rubbed her eyes not realizing how much time has passed

"You okay? It's past 3"

"Fine, you should go back to sleep though, get some more rest" She placed a hand over his that were resting on her shoulders, looking up at him.

Ricky however wasn't going back to bed without bringing Amy with him. He laced his fingers with her and gently pulled her up, leading her towards the couch in the living room. She snuggled up against him once they were settled together.

"This doesn't have anything to do with that weird email from earlier, does it?" His chin rested on top of her head.

This forced her to sit up so she could look at him. She moved on the other end of the couch bringing her knees up to her chin and hugged them. She hasn't sat like that in years.

"Kind of"

"Okay?" He raised a questioning eyebrow

"So….my professor in college, actually she was my thesis supervisor – apparently recommended me for a research opportunity" Amy started. Ricky stayed quiet because it would seem that being recommended for a research opportunity could hardly be a bad thing, so he figured there would be more to the story.

"Apparently this journalist, actually she's seems pretty amazing. Her name is Jane Shaw and she just started this new magazine, it's all about well it's basically the kind of thing I was working on in my undergrad, anyways she has all these amazing editorials, which is what I've been doing for the past hour – you know just reading all these really great pieces she's written and it's just well she seems like a really cool person you know – and that other people whose written for her magazine well they seem pretty cool too…"

Amy wasn't making any sense and Ricky had a hard time following her. But he knew better than to tell her that he had no clue what she was talking about. Instead he waited it out since he figured Amy's words will eventually catch up to whatever was going on in her brain at the moment.

"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I've been given the opportunity to work with her on one of her research projects. I guess Professor Shanahan thought I would be a good match for the job"

…And there it was. Amy finally gathered herself enough to put together a coherent sentence.

"Okay….this is a bad thing because?"

"Ricky you've seen my portfolio, why do YOU think my professor would think that?"

"Because you're a great writer and you take breath taking photographs?" Ricky said a bit uncertain where Amy was trying to go with this.

Amy sighed. Did she honestly have to spell everything out? "No Ricky, because of the work I did on third world countries. Which is exactly where this research project is to take place. In Guatemala, for three weeks"

"Oh"

"Yes. Oh" Finally Ricky was starting to get it.

"Well when would you have to leave?" Ricky asked after a moment, trying to help her think this through. It was an opportunity she obviously wanted to take.

"That's all I know Ricky. She didn't really go into any details, just gave me a phone number and told me to contact her if I was interested"

"So contact her. What's the big deal?"

"Ricky you know I can't go!" Amy said raising her voice

Ricky however stayed calm and nonchalant "Who says?"

"I just got back from New York after being away for four years" Her eyes growing bigger in disbelief. It was as if Ricky had just told her she needed to live off bugs for a month. It also frustrated her that Ricky could be so calm about this. As if he didn't realize what that she would have to leave them. Again. For almost a month.

"You've been back almost a year"

"Yeah but what about you and John? I can't leave again! Especially now that everything is going so well between us. Besides what are people going to say?!"

"Lots of people with families go away on business trips all the time. And who cares what anyone else think?"

"Not for three weeks!" What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be consoling her not infuriating her giving her some sense of false hope that she can actually do this.

"You're busy with work and you've just started your training…whose going to take care of you and John?"

Her words seemed to make Ricky chuckle.

"First of all I know it might not seem like it, especially lately because I've come to rely so much on you for getting stuff that needs to get done…but I'm a grown man I can take care of myself and an 8 year old at the same time. And you of all people should know how much support we have when it comes to John. I'm sure we can figure something out for three weeks"

"What if its longer? Sometimes they say one thing and then deadlines gets pushed…"

"Look we'll deal with that when we have to deal with that. At least set up the meeting to see what this is all about. Who knows, after you hear what she has to say maybe it wouldn't be what you thought it was. There's no point of freaking out over problems that don't even exist yet"

Amy let his words sink in. He was right. What if she goes to the meeting and she realize it's not what she wants to do at all? She was letting her assumptions about things get the better of her.

"Stop being more mature than me. I'm supposed to be the reasonable one. I don't like it when you take my job" She said, crawling towards him to cuddle.

"You know it's not my favorite role, I'm more of a place your bets without thinking of the consequences kind of guy. But sometimes you leave me no choice. Just don't let it happen again" He quipped giving her another kiss on the head.

Amy sighed and then check the time it was just past 4:30 which meant they've been sitting there for almost an hour.

"Is it too early for breakfast?" She asked looking up at him

"It's never too early for breakfast…or late for that matter" Ricky chuckled. "Come on, I'll make you some eggs and bacon"

"Pancakes too?"

"Don't push it missy" He said getting up off the couch "but sure…just this once" He led her by the hand towards the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I know this took a looong while. This chapter was really hard to write, as I ended up changing the direction of where the story was going to go...hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts!**

 **Part 3**

Amy woke up to the sound of a blender going off in the kitchen. She sleepily turned over until she realized what day it was.

She quickly jolted up in bed and checked her phone. 7:30! She had slept in almost an hour! She rushed out of bed, and ran out of the room to jump in the shower.

" _Ricky why didn't you wake me!"_ She cried as she entered the kitchen. John was eating waffles, watching a kids morning show on the couch.

 _"Uh good morning to you too"_ Ricky replied, not sure why Amy sounded so stressed out so early in the morning. He had his computer open on the kitchen counter, scanning through his work emails as he sipped his morning coffee, flagging the ones that needed his immediate attention when he got to the office.

 _"I have that meeting today with Jane Shaw!"_ she exclaimed, obviously in panic.

 _"Yeah but isn't that not till 10?"_

" _I have to get John to school by 8:30, I still have to organize my portfolio, and I still have to get to the printers and print off copies of my articles and resume"_

 _"You still have a few hours, relax Amy you'll be fine"_

 _"Well excuse me for wanting to make sure I'm prepared_!" Amy said, almost shouting. Amy was feeling a crazy amount of stress. It's been a long time since she's had to interview for anything and she knew that the pressure was getting to her. She took a moment to relax herself, she knew she was being unreasonable and it wasn't fair that she was taking her frustrations out on Ricky – who had been nothing but supportive this past week.

 _"I'm sorry"_ she finally said,, forcing herself to calm down _"I'm just really stressed out about this"_

 _"Yeah I can tell"_ Ricky said, finally abandoning his lap top to walk over and give Amy a hug. But I know you and I know you got this.

 _"I just, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing"_

 _"Amy, we already talked about this remember? Lets deal with the meeting first"_

 _"Yeah, but then again – what if it's not what I want, she'd be mad at me for wasting her time…I"_

 _"Amy…focus"_

 _"Right, meeting first_ " She repeated.

She heard the sound of glass tipping over and looked up just in time to see John's chocolate milk spilling all over the table, the brown liquid flowing towards her black suit case.

 _"Oops_ " he said sheepishly, not thinking anything of it. It wasn't the first time he's accidentally spilled something. But instead of the "oops" his mom would usually say back her response was a little bit different.

 _"JOHN!"_ she cried out, startling him.

 _"Geez Ricky! My bag!"_ she ran over to grab her bag which had already been wet and stained by the chocolate milk.

 _"Sorry"_ he muttered

Amy barely heard this and rushed her bag to the sink to try and wipe off the spill, praying that it wouldn't stain. She didn't notice the look on John's face.

Ricky grabbed a cloth and walked over to the living room, where John was sitting unsure of what to do.

 _"It's alright buddy, we'll get it cleaned up"_

 _"I'm sorry"_ He said again.

Ricky sighed, he could tell John was feeling guilty and upset about getting yelled at by Amy.

" _Don't worry about it, Mom just has a lot on her mind that's all. Why don't you go get ready for school alright"_ Ricky said affectionately rubbing John's hair.

" _Sure_ " he mumbled getting up to go to his room.

Amy got to the coffee shop with 20 minutes to spare. She found a good spot for them to sit and chat and then headed to the washroom to straighten herself up. She wore a navy blazer over her white collared shirt. Since this wasn't a typical interview, she decided to go with dark washed jeans and pointed heels as to not look too dressed up. Her hair had grown out past her shoulders so she put it up it a high ponytail, her bangs swept to the side as usual. She felt, for the first time in a long while like a real journalist. She hasn't felt like this since she was travelling around South America and parts of South Africa during her undergrad.

Breathing deeply she walked out and sat down at her table to wait for Ms. Shaw. At 3 minutes to 10 she noticed the familiar face she has googled on the internet walking towards her. She was a lot taller in real life. She looked up to smile, as a sign of recognition and the woman walked straight towards her.

" _Amy Jeurgens?"_ The well dressed woman, who was in fact Jane Shaw asked, while Amy got up to shake her hand.

 _"Hi! Yes, it's um, it's such a pleasure to meet you!_ " She said in a voice she hoped didn't sound over enthused.

The two of them sat down and placed their orders with the waitress who came by a minute later.

" _So I've heard a lot of great things about you Ms. Jeurgens. Dr. Shanahan spoke very highly of you_ "

Amy felt herself actually blush.

" _Thank you_ " she said meekly _"I had a great mentor and I owe everything I learned from her_ " she said truthfully.

 _"I've read a lot about your work"_ Amy quickly added, wanting to turn the informal conversation back on her " _The piece you did on the South African Tribe was nothing short of insightful"_ okay Amy turn it down a bit. You don't want to sound like an obnoxious art observer commenting on a piece of painting. At this point, she was internally analyzing everything she was saying and how she sounded.

Ms. Shaw however, looked pretty please. " _Thanks, I didn't think you would be familiar with it. I mean it's all very new – the magazine that is"._

" _Oh well, um to be honest, I've done a lot of research on your magazine and did some reading on the organization you're affiliated with since you've emailed last week. I've also read a few pieces you've done for the New Yorker while I was in my undergrad. I just never connected it with yourself until recently_. "

Jane Shaw laughed " _A true journalist. I can already tell why Shanahan would refer you_ " She said. _"Enough about me, I'm very intrigued to see some of the work you've done_ "

 _"Oh yes, absolutely_ " Amy said nodding as she pulled out her portfolio.

After looking over a few of her key pieces, Jane Shaw sat back against her chair and took another sip of her coffee

" _Well, I'm sure you've heard this before, but these are really great. You're definitely someone I would love to have on my team_ " she said looking at Amy.

 _"Oh wow! Really? I mean I would love that!"_

 _"Well like I mentioned in my email, the research project is going to take place in Guatemala. I wanted to fly out sometime next week. We would have to be there for probably 3 weeks or so"_

Suddenly Amy's stomach turned into knots. This was becoming too real too fast.

 _"Next week?_ " She said meekly

Jane Shaw frowned, noticing Amy's discomfort.

 _"I know it's pretty short notice…"_

" _No, I mean, I'm flattered that you contacted me for this opportunity and I'm absolutely grateful to you and Professor Shanahan, and under different circumstances I wouldn't even have to think about saying yes. However, I do have an 8 year old, whom I have been away from a lot during the past few years while I was doing my undergrad. So you see, I mean as much as I would honestly love to go and take you up on this, I can't do so without discussing it with my fiancé first_ " Amy figured that the term fiancé gave her relationship a bit more validation, rather than just saying 'boyfriend'.

" _Oh! Of course, I'm sorry I didn't realize. Dr. Shanahan never mentioned. I absolutely understand. However, I should mention that you're not the first mother I've had on my staff and we are very family orientated. You would be welcome to bring your son along. One of the ladies I worked with traveled with her 5 year old and it was a great way to expose him to cultures outside of well_ _this…"_ She laughed.

Amy was floored. She hadn't realize that was even an option.

" _Really? I mean wow, that's amazing. I mean thank you for that, it certainly could make the decision a bit easier. I would still have to run it by my fiance_ "

" _Listen Amy, I completely understand. I know how important family is, I would be a big hypocrite if I wasn't, I mean you're familiar with my work right – I learn and write about it because it's what I value. Which is why I want to make sure that anytime anyone joins my team, they know that their family is welcome on board as well"_

Amy was completely floored, she was practically speechless. Where did Jane Shaw come from and why hadn't they been introduce earlier in life?!

 _"Wow, again, that's so amazing to hear. Thank you"_

" _Of course you understand we are kind of in a tight dead line here. If you could let me know of your answer by tomorrow?"_

 _"Yes, I totally understand. That is more than reasonable. I'll discuss it with Ricky tonight and will let you know as soon as possible"_

As smoothly as her meeting with Jane Shaw went, the rest of the day unfortunately did not go as well. In fact it was downright disastrous. She got a call shortly after her meeting from John's school saying that he did not have a lunch with him, smacking her head she realized that it had been left on the kitchen counter due to the rush they were in that morning. She ended up driving true a fast food restaurant and delivered a happy meal for him to eat with 10 minutes before the lunch bell was to ring. She forgot she had to pick up some dry cleaning and ended up being 5 minutes late to pick up John who was now is a sour mood from the way his mom has been treating him all day and was cranky all afternoon. John had baseball practice, which she completely forgot about. Normally she would have been organized and had all his things all ready to go but given that she had been running around all day, she had to go scrummage through the laundry for his uniform while almost yelling at him to find his mitt and baseball bag while she looked for the bottom half of his uniform.

In the middle of John's game, Ricky called to say that his team still had a lot of work to do regarding their current project and that he was going to be home late. Normally she wouldn't have a problem with this, but given that she's been having a bad day not to mention that fact that she needed they needed to discuss her meeting from earlier, she was short with him on the phone and they almost fought about it, before she stopped herself and quickly uttered out an apology and that she would talk to him when he got home.

 _"Listen Amy, I have for the past week been trying not to take your little snippets too personally because I understand you've been under a lot of stressed, but you need to realize that you're not the only one who has a lot going on here_ " Ricky had said at her over the phone, his voice was calm but tinted with a tone of annoyance, before she took a deep breath and apologized.

At 10:00 she sent John to bed and Ricky still wasn't home. She finally sat down on the couch with a glass of wine and looked around the mess at the apartment. There were dishes in the sink, dry cleaning left on the couch and shoes all over the place.

 _'OMG but what was with this day_?!' she thought out loud to herself.

She heard keys clicking with the lock on the door and Ricky entered looking almost as exhausted as she was. It was then that she realized she had made up her mind. She knew, without a doubt, what she was going to say to Ms. Shaw.

 ** _Stay tuned for part 4. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you think Amy is/should say :)_**

 ** _Again thanks for following this story._**


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 4**

" _Hey so how did the meeting go?"_ Ricky asked taking of his shoes by the door as Amy watched an exhausted Ricky put his coat away.

 _"Really well actually. Actually much more than well…It was amazing_ " Amy replied. Ricky walked over to the fridge to pull out a beer before joining Amy on the couch.

 _"Yeah? So it sounds like something you want to do_?" He said from the kitchen while he pulled the cap off his beer. His mind though was half in the room responding to Amy and half somewhere else.

 _"I mean absolutely! It's an amazing opportunity. And I know it's rare and not a lot of new grads gets an opportunity like this you know. And Jane Shaw was so nice! It's like meeting an idol I didn't know exist. She is like just an amazing human being"_

Although Amy had already made up her mind, she needed to get Ricky's reaction to the news to convince herself that she was, in fact, making the right decision. What Ricky thought about this whole thing, would determine her final verdict.

Ricky sat down on the couch next to Amy.

 _"Right, well that's good news then. Glad to hear it went well Aimes"_ Ricky said, somewhat lost in thought, taking a sip of his beer.

Amy sighed. _"And guess what else?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"She said that if we wanted, I could bring John along. There would be a school for him or something. I don't know if it's a private tutor or what but there would be arrangements for a family to come along"_

" _Amy you know as much as I would love to…_ " Ricky started.

 _"I know you have a lot going on right now. But if I took John with me…"_ Amy watched Ricky's expression carefully as she said that.

" _I mean…uh…I don't know I guess…I think we would want to see what he thought about that don't you think?"_

 _"Yes, but what if he wanted to. John. What if we talked to him about it and he actually wanted to go."_

 _"Uh…"_ Ricky wasn't sure what to say. This was a lot for him to think about.

 _"I guess….that would be I don't know I guess it would be alright. Like when would you have to leave?"_

 _"Next week"_ Amy said pointedly still taking note of Ricky's every expressions.

He almost chocked on his beer.

 _"Next week!?"_

 _"Yup"_

 _"I don't know…Amy that's kinda…"_

" _Soon?"_ Amy finished for him _"Right. That's what I thought too. Which is exactly why I decided that I'm going to turn it down"_

" _What_?!" Ricky asked frowning, now even more confused. _"I don't understand. I thought you said the meeting went really well?"_

 _"I do. I mean it would be amazing to get to do something like this, but I want to be with my family more"_

 _"Amy…"_

 _"Look I already know what you're going to say. That you don't want me missing out on any opportunities and all that…but I really think that if I went I would be missing out on so much more, which is being here with my family. I've already sacrificed four years of that. And sometimes I think, I don't know I still wonder you know if I made the right choice. I don't regret Hudson I don't. I achieved something I had my mind on since I was little. I got the education and experience I knew I would get in Hudson and it's obviously already paying off…but I don't want to take any more time away from this….from us"_

This time Ricky didn't attempt to hide his shock. If this was what Amy wanted to do, if this was what she really wanted then he was ecstatic. But he didn't want to make her feel like she needed to give up what sounded like a pretty awesome opportunity either. What if she regretted not going on later on. He didn't want to be the reason she held back.

 _"Amy are you sure? I mean it almost sounds too good to pass up. I'm sure we can figure something out. And if you ended up taking John with you for three weeks, I mean maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing"_

Suddenly Ricky felt guilty about not being more excited to hear Amy's meeting had gone well. She had been nothing but supportive of everything he's done in the past year, that he felt that it was his turn to support her with her choices. Especially something that would be great for her career.

 _"Ricky I'm positive. Today…this week has been insane. I feel like I've been letting you and John down, because I couldn't think about anything except for this meeting. I know I've been really short with the both of you and I hate that. I hate that I let myself become that. Things have been going so well since we got together and I think it was because we were all finally content with where we are with our lives. I want to be here. With you and John."_

Ricky saw one side of Amy he knew very well and he knew then that Amy had already made up her mind, and damn anyone who tried to change it or convince her otherwise.

 _"Okay then"_ Ricky said smiling.

Amy looked at Ricky. He was practically beaming at her last words, which is how she knew she made the right choice. Rare opportunity or not. She was beginning to learn that sometimes you can't always have everything presented to you. You need to choose what was more important in life.

"Y _ou're happy…no you're ecstatic I'm turning it down"_

 _"What? Amy…I mean of course I want you to stay but you know I would support you in whatever you wanted to do"_

 _"But you were hoping I wouldn't go"_ She couldn't hide the bemused tone from her voice.

 _"Weeellll…not exactly hoping. I can't say I'm sad about your decision"_ Ricky said trying to choose his words carefully.

Amy just stared at him, not being able to stop the smile from forming on her face, which also made Ricky laugh no longer being able to hide the relief or joy he felt about not having to be without Amy for three weeks.

 _"Okay truth, I feel like you belong here. With us. I know it was only going for three weeks, but now I don't even know if I can stand a day without you"_

 _"You took the words exactly out of my mouth"_ Amy said leaning forward to give him a kiss.

After a few minutes, Amy pulled away

 _"But…"_

 _"Oh no, there's a but?"_ Ricky asked raising a brow.

 _"Today also made me realize how much I missed the work I did. I think I want to start looking for a job"_

 _"You have a job"_

 _"It's not the same Ricky. Writing articles for an online magazine is just not the same…"_ Amy trailed off, not sure exactly how to explain herself.

Ricky nodded knowingly. Amy was the kind of person that felt that she could change the world with one article.

 _"I mean of course I want something pretty local and with hours that will work with our schedule, but I want to start doing research again. I want to go out and interview people. I want to capture photographs that could evoke emotion. I want to write things worth reading about, not just something people browse through on their spare time"_

Ricky couldn't help himself, he leaned over and kissed her. Seeing her get so passionate about what she obviously loved to do made his heart flutter, he couldn't have felt more proud nor lucky to have someone like Amy.

This caught Amy by surprise and she briefly looked at him before her eyes fluttered close as Ricky deepened the kiss, pushing her back towards the other end of the couch.

 _"Anything you want"_ Ricky whispered against her lips before moving his head to press kisses against her collar bone.

 _"What was that?_ " Amy asked still with her eyes closed

Ricky shifted himself so that he was now looking down on Amy. He brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

 _"I want you to have anything you want. If you said you wanted to travel across the world for 6 months, I would never be able to say no to you. Even if it pains me, if it was what you wanted, I would want you to have that"_

Amy stared at the man she felt so lucky to be able to call hers, and hers alone. She swept her thumb over his bottom lip.

 _"I have everything I want right here. Everything else is just extra"_

Later that night, Ricky jumped into the shower and Amy quietly crept into John's room making as little noise as possible as not to wake him. The 8 year old was sound asleep sprawled out on his bed, his blanket half off, half on his body.

Amy gently readjusted him to a more comfortable sleeping position and re tucked the blanket around him. She knew she had let the stress of the past week get the better of her and unfortunately John, along with Ricky had fallen as unfair 'victims' of her short temper.

 _"Night sweetheart"_ She whispered, placing a kiss on her soft temple. She stayed for a few more minutes watching him sleep. What was it about watching children while they slept that gave you an automatic feeling of peace? She knew even more then that this is where they all belonged at the moment. As much as one can argue that it would have also been a great experience for John, what he needed more right now was his family together. He had spent the better part of his life without both his parents together, and now that they were he didn't want to rob him of anymore of that time. Besides she was very early into her career, who knows what else was in stored for them in the future? Her and Ricky could easily provide John the same opportunity and experiences Jane Shaw was providing them now, but it would have to be when they timing was right for all of them and when both she and Ricky could be there together with John.

She heard the water turn off from outside the bedroom, which meant that Ricky was done in the shower. She gave John one final kiss on the forehead, before heading towards the bedroom to get ready for bed. And if she was being honest, she wouldn't to go to bed without Ricky sleeping right beside her anytime soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Story Summary: Could the individual success of Ricky's and Amy's career be taking a toll on their personal life? Thanks again for those of you who continue to follow this story :)**

Amy let out an involuntary groan as she opened the door to her favorite coffee shop. There must have been at the very least 10 people in line and about 4 others standing by the bar looking as though they were still waiting for their orders. Glancing at the counter she instantly realized what was causing the possible delay between her and her morning cup of coffee. Instead of the usual 5 baristas that worked the counter, there were only 3. The coffee shop located exactly across the street from the magazine she worked at, was one of only 3 popular java shops located downtown. The place was constantly filled with people, especially the two hours prior to people starting their work day. The baristas that worked there however where fast and efficient and knew all the regulars and their orders, thus the wait time was never more than 5 minutes no matter how heavy the foot traffic was. The exception of course were cases such as these when they were short staffed.

She glanced at the time on her phone to see if she had time to wait in line. Signing, she put her phone away knowing that she would have to settle for the complimentary coffee offered at the office staff room. She turned to walk out of the shop and crossed the street to the building she's been working at the past 3 months. Amy hears her phone beep as she opened the door to the corporate building that housed Glen Times.

A text message from Ricky.

 ** _Hi baby just landed. I'll call you when I reach the hotel. In meetings all day until 4._**

Ricky and his team had to fly out to New York to do a pitch to one of their clients. His team has expanded like crazy just this past year, due mainly to their success of acquiring big accounts and has had to do a few overnight business trips to places like New York or Boston. The main head office of two of their biggest clients.

She pressed reply and wrote a quick text message back

 **OK, love you. John and I miss you already.** She added a heart and kiss emoticon before sending the message.

She sighed as she put her phone away. She usually took the three flights of stairs to her floor but today she opted to wait for the elevator instead.

Their morning, like most of their mornings lately has been nothing short of chaotic. She got up at 5am, Ricky already in the shower. She double checked Ricky's overnight bag to make sure he had everything he needed for his business trip. One would think that a 25 year old successful business professional would be fully capable of packing an overnight bag on his own. While this might be the case for his briefcase, which couldn't be more organize had they hired a professional organizer to do the job – his personal suitcase however was the complete opposite. The first time Ricky packed his bag himself he focused solely on what he was going to wear to the meetings that he forgot to pack practically everything else, including extra socks and a set of clothes to sleep in. Amy checked Ricky's bag as one might check for a child's luggage going away to an overnight trip or a sleepover – making sure he had everything he needed for the two nights he was staying in New York.

Ricky had finished in the shower and had walked back in the room still dripping wet, with a towel wrapped around his waist. Amy was still checking his pack.

4 months ago this scene would have gone a little bit differently. 4 months ago Ricky would have walked right behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed light kisses down the side of her neck. 4 months ago, Amy would have been completely distracted with the gesture and instantly forget what she was doing. 4 months ago, they might have both crawled back into bed before forcing themselves to get up at the very last minute to rush through their morning routine.

" _Where's your windbreaker_?" Amy asked not looking up, refolding a shirt before placing it among his other things.

" _Why?_ " Ricky was grabbing a pair of boxers and works pants out of the drawer.

Of course he doesn't check the weather. If he did he would know that New York was calling for wind and rain on the day he was going to fly back.

 _"Weather said it might rain Friday"_

 _"Oh think I should bring it?"_

Amy just looked at him exasperated and walked to the closet to grab his windbreaker without saying a word.

Honestly.

Amy zipped up Ricky's bag and placed right beside his briefcase before walking out to the kitchen to start breakfast.

From there it was none stop running around, everyone rushing to get ready for their day ahead and getting out the door in time.

The elevator opened and she crammed herself in there with at least 8 other people. She took a moment to close her eyes and took a deep breath. This day hasn't even started and already she was exhausted. She mentally tried to prepare herself for the two interviews she had to do today.

As she approached her desk, Claire the girl she was fortunate enough to work beside with was already at her work space. She was the same age as Amy and this had been her first job after graduating from college. Claire had interned during her final year of journalism and was lucky enough to get hired on as part of the writing staff not long after she had gotten her degree. She was gossipy and funny and Amy and her hit it off right away.

However, instead of doing anything that resembled anything related to their line of work, Claire was scrolling through something on her phone.

 _"Hey"_ Amy dropped her bag on the floor by her desk before slumping her body down on her wheely chair.

 _"Hey. Have you been to "JIMS?"_

 _"What's that?"_ Amy waiting for her computer to start up, started organizing the files she needed for the day.

" _Some new bar downtown. Eric and I are going to the hockey game tonight and I'm thinking of where to eat for after. Not my idea of a date night but whatever. I want to see that new Nicholas Spark movie so I'll get him back tomorrow night_ " Claire said still scrolling through her phone.

When was the last time her and Ricky had gone out on their own? She couldn't remember. There was a few nights here and there when they first got back together, taking advantage of their many sources of help, a family member always keen on having John over for the night. However shortly after Amy and Ricky decided that they wanted to be together and not just for the sake of John, it was like someone hit the fast forward button on their lives and it was always one thing after another. Ricky's career took off almost instantly, and Amy had decided that she didn't want to just simply be a stay at home mom and wanted to stay current in the workforce. She landed the current job she had now after 3 weeks of job searching.

They were both grateful for it, they were. How many smart, hard working people their age did they know that were unemployed and not by choice? How many others had to settle for low paying part time jobs that had nothing to do with their degree until they got their big break? She knew that while a lot of it laid in the fact that they were both determined and had a strong work ethic, she also knew that luck had a lot to do with it as well.

The down side was that it left very little time for their personal life. Ricky was starting to have to spend more and more time at work. Amy despite the fact that she only had 2 columns a week and was only working part time still had to juggle not only her own work schedule but John's school and after-school schedule as well. Now that he was older, he held interests that most children his age do that which meant juggling time after school and making sure that John was where he was suppose to be when he was suppose to be there. It didn't help of course that John decided to get serious about the same thing his dad took interest, which was playing hockey. John's hockey schedule was not only demanding on their time, but their wallets as well. She almost couldn't believe that amount of practice he had to go to each week, not to mention that cost all his equipment. And there was the initial shock of finding out that a hockey stick could cost almost 200 bucks.

 _"I sure hope that thing is made out of gold, because god forbid that breaks – we won't be able to afford getting you a new one_ ", she remembered saying then instantly regretting it because that's exactly that kind of thing a 'mom' would say. Also because, of course they could, despite the fact that the thing was highly overpriced for what really was just a piece of painted wood.

She had just finished going through the research she did for her first interview of the day and was about to go over her questions when her phone rang.

 _"Hey, let me call you from my work line"_ Amy said, hanging up before Ricky could reply.

She picked up the black receiver of her work phone and dialed the number for Ricky's company issued phone which allowed for unlimited long distance.

 _"Hey"_ She heard Ricky say over a buzz in the background.

"Hey. You get to the hotel okay?"

" _Yup…sorry one sec_ " Ricky said, then to someone else " _Thanks Julie, I'll take a Heineken_ " She heard Ricky say to someone. Who the hell was Julie? And where the hell was he at?

 _"Who's that?"_

"Who's who? _Oh Julie, she works for the exec team for Ntrega. She's here to meet us then bring us to the building. We're just at the hotel bar waiting for the rest of the guys….Jake! Jake - Over here bud!"_ Amy could picture Ricky sitting on a bar stool at a crowded bar, probably beside Julie (who was probably wearing a female power suit, her tight pencil skirt, bordering on inappropriate as most new Yorkers like to wear them. She was probably blonde because most of them were) waving over to Jake over the crowd.

 _"I thought you guys were all on the same flight?"_

" _Yeah, we've checked into different rooms. I've been waiting here for like seriously 10 minutes. I swear these guys take longer than girls to get ready…uh no offense_ ".

She can hear Jake's voice muffled in the background and Ricky offering a low greeting back.

" _Oh okay. Well it sounds like you're busy so I'll let you go_ "

" _Alright. Love you_ "

She was about to respond when she heard Jake's voice " _LOVE YOU AMY_!" then " _OW_!"

Amy couldn't help chuckling. " _Alright, love you. And tell Jake back at 'cha_ " She smiled into the receiver

Ricky was about to say something but was interrupted by the sound of another person's voice

 _"Okay, I'll talk to you later"_ He replied, before hanging up the phone.

If this was 4 months ago she had no doubt that Ricky would have excused himself from the bar and found a quieter spot just to call her. 4 months ago their call would have lasted at least 5 minutes longer. 4 months ago the first thing they would have talked about was John, before asking how the other was doing. 4 months ago, they would have wasted at least 2 extra silent minutes after saying their goodbyes for the 10th time just holding the phone to their ear, not ready to hang up and let the other go yet.

Claire noticed Amy's somewhat down mood, as she hung up the phone call with Ricky.

 _"You alright?"_

 _"Yeah"_ Amy swiveled her chair around so she was facing Claire " _Ricky's in New York for the next two days and already I'm exhausted just thinking about everything I have to do_ "

" _Okaaay lady. We are getting ourselves a fancy lunch today. Let's go to the bistro across the street"_

Her and Claire went there once and scoffed at the 17 dollar salad and the fact that they offered Champaigne as part of their lunch menu.

" _Oh dear! I'm afraid I forgot to put on my pearls today"_ Claire had said placing a delicate hand on her bare neck for added affect _"I do feel a tad under dress_ "

The two giggled and laughed almost the whole time during lunch that Amy was slightly afraid they were going to get kicked out.

" _Alright why not. It's a date_ " She smiled. She could use a bit of a distraction today and she knew Claire's company was exactly what she needed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 2**

" _I'm going to chew as slow as I can to savor this 25 dollar salmon dish as much as possible"_ Claire said, closing her eyes while taking another bite of her very trendy, very upscale salmon lunch she got which looked like it came right out of one of those fancy food network shows.

" _Yeah, whatever this is…breaded chicken quinoa thingie is amazingggg. Try some_ " Amy pushed her plate to let Claire take a piece off her plate, before doing the same thing to Claire's salmon.

" _Oh my god yah, good choice_ " Claire nodded, pointing to Amy's plate with her fork before taking a sip of her Perrier. Voss or Perrier were the two choices when they asked for water with their meals, as though regular filtered water was beneath the restaurants conduct.

Amy froze as she heard a very familiar voice call out her name. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Claire not moving.

" _Amy? Amy Jeurgens_?"

" _Oh god, please tell me no_ " she mouthed staring at Claire

Claire responded with a simple shrug and then plastered on her fake smile, before looking up at the source of the voice. The same smile she reserved for people she didn't like but had to pretend for the sake of the moment. It didn't look genuine at all, which was the point.

Amy had no choice but to look up. Adrian. Exactly the person she feared it was.

Adrian worked a few blocks away from Amy and Claire. The first time they encountered each other was not at all pleasant to say the least. Amy figured the best way to deal with the situation was either ignore the other or act with fake civility, if they ever ran into each other.

Adrian however, was having none of that. She had reverted back to the same hateful girl she was in high school, so much so that it made every encounter with her very, very awkward.

Claire was with her the first time they saw each other in the street. Adrian was so hostile that after she turned and walk away, Claire's response was " _Okay WHOOO was that and what the hell did you do to her to make her hate you so much!"_

Amy filled her in as much as she could, that she and Adrian had been somewhat rivals since high school.

" _Okay wait. Let me get this straight. That girl went out with Ricky while you were pregnant with John, you and Ricky got close and made out, she had sex with your boyfriend as revenge…"_

 _"EX. He was my ex at that point"_

 _"Okaayy, whatever. Then you and Ricky got together, while she was carrying this Ben's baby? Then you and Ricky broke up so they got back together while you were in New York. You came back. They broke up, then you and Ricky got back together?"_

 _"Uh yeah…well I mean if you put it like that"_

" _Jesus Christ lady, I know it's a small city but like there are other guys out there. You don't have to keep recycling the same two"_

 _"Look it's complicated okay. The point is…it was always Ricky. It was just, I don't know - for some reason the road had to be a messy one"_

 _"Messy?! More like a 16 vehicle pile up!"_

 _"Shut up!"_ Amy said laughing at this _"Don't judge me!"_

 _"Oh girl I don't judge, I don't have it in me"_ Claire said grinning sideways at her as she linked her arm with hers, making Amy laugh harder, knowing first hand that Claire definitely had a 'judgmental' personality.

Unfortunately that encounter was the first of many and Adrian didn't make it any less awkward each time. It wasn't so bad when she was with Claire. It came to a point when Claire couldn't just stand there quietly while Adrian berated her friend, not that Adrian extended any civility towards her either. Adrian was equally rude to Amy's companion, simply because she was associated with Amy. So eventually Claire would fire back with her own little clever come backs.

" _So I hear Ricky's in New York this week_ " Adrian said with a sly scowl on her face.

Amy knew that despite the fact that was no longer close with the group anymore, after their breakup, she still found a way to stay in the know with what was happening in everyone's life.

" _Don't you have anything else better to do than to keep track of my boyfriend?"_

 _"Boyfriend being the key term here Amy. How long are you and Ricky going to play house before you actually commit to each other – like for real? I don't see a ring on your pretty little finger yet missy"_

Amy rolled her eyes

" _Though we know Ricky. He could never really commit, could he? It won't be long before he starts to get anxious again"_

" _Well just because YOU can't hold down a man"_ Claire retorted narrowing her eyes while plastering on her fake smile.

Adrian smiled and narrowed her own eyes at her direction before leaning down and putting both hands on the table and turned back to Amy.

" _I mean who knows what or rather WHO he could be doing in New York right now. Face it Amy I know it and you know it. New York is just one god damn tempting playground for someone with Ricky's past"_

 _"Right Adrian, Ricky's past_ " Amy spat back. She was doing everything she can to not let Adrian get to her. Her fist clenched under the table around her napkin.

 _"Well I should go_ " Adrian sighed getting up.

" _Yes, please feel free NOT to say hi next time you see us again"_ Claire said with a tight lipped smile.

Adrian rolled her eyes then turned away without saying anything further.

" _Bitch!_ " Claire said after Adrian walked away.

Amy however didn't know how to respond to what just happened. She was furious but something about what Adrian said bothered her, even though she knew better than to let it.

Claire noticed Amy had grown silent.

" _What? Oh come on, you can't possibly believe anything that girl said"_

 _"No_ " Amy started, then again with a bit more sureness " _NO of course not. I just – god, I just can't stand her. I don't understand why she feels the need to ruin our day every time"_

" _Because, she's obviously jealous of your life - and she hates hers"_

 _"Oh my god, we gotta get back!"_ Amy declared realizing the time

" _Okay geez relax. We just have to cross the street_ " Claire responded and waved at the waiter to get the bill.

The rest of Amy's day went pretty smoothly. Her second interview, she had to admit went better than expected. She finished typing and organizing her notes for the day with 10 minutes left to her work day. All in all she felt pretty good about that afternoon.

At 3:00 she exchanged goodbye with Claire and the rest of the staff on her floor to pick up John from school. However, despite all this she couldn't help shake off the uneasy feeling she's had since Adrian had bumped into them during lunch time.

She knew better than to let Adrian get to her. She did. She wasn't sure what bothered her more, the fact that there could be truth in what Adrian said or the fact that she had let Adrian, of all people, actually get to her that she would question her trust in Ricky. A trust that she's never questioned.

" _Oh god Amy get a grip on yourself_ " she said out loud to herself while alone in the car on the way to pick up John. She thought about everything that her and Ricky had gone through, and the memories of the past few months did nothing else but made her smile. Yes, her and Ricky had a pretty rocky past, but their life together now was worth it all of it. Besides, who was it that said nothing ever worthwhile was ever easily acquired?

If someone had offered her the ability to go back to her past and undo all that drama they had gone she would 100 percent refuse if it meant that Ricky and John would not be part of her future.

If there was one thing she learned after coming back home from New York was that she would always pick Ricky and John over anything. That was precisely why she had turned down a three week research project. A project that could have potentially done wonders for her career. Who knew what she could be doing by now had she had taken what Jane Shaw had offered her? But no matter what it was, none of it mattered without her family.

By the time she got to John's school, she felt a lot more reassured. The weather was nice so they had time to stop by for ice cream and hang out at the park before having to get John ready for hockey practice. Despite this, they still managed to be a little bit late leaving the house and got to the rink just in time without a minute to spare. She got a look from another parent and the eye roll that she got from the same mom didn't get pass her as she rushed to help John into his gear so that he could make it on the ice on time for the start of practice.

John's hockey practice ended at 8:00 and they stopped by a fast food place to get a late dinner. By the time they got home she realized that she hasn't heard from Ricky all day. She knew that he was going to be in meetings all of that afternoon. But he should have been done by 4 if not at the very latest 5 if it was one that went on late.

Suddenly the doubt that she had feeling during the day came creeping back. She thought about sending him a message. To see how he was doing. But the combination of what Adrian had said to her and the fact that he didn't bother at least texting her after their meeting, prevented her from doing so and she let her pride get in the way of just sending her boyfriend an innocent text message.

Fine if he's not going to message or call then neither would I, she thought. If he's too busy to think about me then so am I!

By 10:00 she was completely exhausted. She had been up since 5 and has had a pretty full day. She checked her phone before going to sleep, in case she missed a call from Ricky while she was washing the dishes or if she got a text message and just didn't hear the beep.

Nothing.

" _Whatever Ricky, I hope you're having fun with Julie or whatever stupid blonde is probably hitting on you right now"_ She thought to herself as she tried to settle inside the covers. She was being immature and probably highly unreasonable, she knew. But she was too mad at Ricky to think rationally.

She went to sleep annoyed.

A noise jolted Amy up from her sleep. It took her a moment to realize that it was her phone that had woken her.

She momentarily felt nervous, as most do when they've been woken up from sleep by a phone call in the middle of the night, then notice that it was Ricky calling her.

Worried, she hastily picked up the call before it could go to voicemail.

 _"Ricky?"_

 _"Hey, sorry did I wake you?"_

Amy sat up, rubbing her eyes to wake herself up from sleep.

 _"No, no. Is everything okay? Are you alright?"_

Ricky let out a low chuckle.

" _Yeah I'm fine. Don't lie I know you were sleeping"_ he said teasing, then lowering his voice _"I know it's really late but I couldn't sleep, I missed you"_

Amy smiled " _I missed you too"_ she paused, before adding _"…so much_ "

" _I know you have to wake up early, but I wanted to hear your voice"_

 _"No it's fine. I'm glad you called"_ She replied now fully awake. Her unjust frustration with him from earlier now completely forgotten.

" _How was your day?"_

 _"Terrible_ " she replied in a low chuckle

" _That bad huh_?" he chuckled back

" _The line at Jeans was ridiculous and I didn't get my morning coffee today"_ she said pretending to pout, but still speaking a hushed tone _._

 _"Oh no you poor thing_ " Ricky said pretending to soothe her.

 _"Then this mom practically threw daggers at me with her eyes when I dropped off John at hockey practice. I mean I got him there just in time for their little group meeting or whatever"_

 _"Sue? Yeah I heard her say something or other to someone once because John walked in eating Mcdonalds fries one time"_

 _"Oh my god! That woman is too much! She made the same comment because I gave him like a lunchable for snack once. Like not everyone has a nanny that can make their child a nutritionist balance meal, every meal of the day!"_

She decided not to mention the incident with Adrian. She was enjoying this rare moment with Ricky. It's been so long, too long since they had time to just be together and just talk, about life. About whatever they felt like talking about. She wouldn't want to try to ruin it by something silly Adrian said. Even if she tried to sound aloof and act like it didn't bother her, Ricky knew her well. She didn't want to offend him, which could possibly start a fight.

She turned the conversation back to him _"How did your meeting go?"_ Amy settled herself back under the comfort of her covers, making herself comfortable as she rested her head on her pillow while holding the phone to hear ear to continue her intimate conversation with Ricky. A moment that has become too rare in the last few months.

On the other end of the line, Ricky was lying straight on his back on top of the covers of his own hotel bed. He eyes wide open as he starred at the ceiling. One arm behind his head, sandwich between him and the pillow, the other holding the phone up to his ear.

 _"Long. But good. The execs love us"_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"We got the full royal treatment today"_

 _"Royal treatment huh_ "

" _They sent a black escalade to pick us up. We got chauffeured around wherever we wanted. They're on call 24 hours. Like right now if I wanted to go somewhere I'd just have to call for the driver"_

 _"No way"_

 _"Well obviously. We are a pretty big deal_ " Ricky joked.

Ricky's sarcasm made Amy laugh, forcing Ricky to remember how much he missed hearing it.

They were silent for a few moments before Amy spoke again. " _So where did you end up getting chauffeured to Mr. hot shot?"_

 _"Hockey game"_

Even a hundred miles away, Ricky could already see Amy rolling her eyes.

 _"Of course"_

 _"What? It's the New York rangers, in New York! And we got company box seats. It really can't get any better_ " Ricky said in a way like it should have been obvious to Amy _"Oh man I have to tell you, they took us to dinner at this really fancy restaurant, I kid you not there was a guy whose job was to just brush the crumbs from the table every 10 minutes. It got pretty awkward after a while. Brett knocked his beer over and spilt it on his lap"_ Ricky said laughing at the memory.

" _Oh Brett_ " Amy said laughing with him.

 _"The boys wanted to go to a club in New York after the game so I didn't get back until about an hour ago. I wasn't going to call, but…"_

" _Right with a chauffeur offering to take you wherever you wanted to go, I find it hard that you boys could resist the itch to party your pants off. But really like I said I'm glad you called"_

" _Hey I'd have you know, I kept all articles of clothing on at all times. I don't know I can say the same about Brett"_

" _What time will you get back?"_ Amy tried to stifle a yawn but couldn't help it.

 _"Around 6pm on Friday. But you have to get up in a few hours. I should let you go"_

"Yeah okay" Amy said, her eyes now closing.

" _Alright well, goodnight. Love you"_

 _"Love you too. Night"_

The line went silent again for a few minutes, both of them still holding the phone to their ear.

 _"Amy?"_

 _"Yeah"_

 _"Why aren't you hanging up?"_

 _"I was waiting for you to"_

Ricky smiled, still staring at the ceiling of his hotel room.

 _"Alright on three"_

They counted to three, before Amy hung up to drift off to sleep. This time feeling a lot lighter than she did when she first went to sleep a few hours ago.


	9. Chapter 9

**AMY**

 _"_ _What do you think people from modernized countries, like ours - learn from these traditional African tribal communities?"_

Amy was at a small office in Manhattan sitting in front of her idol, Jane Shaw. She had followed her work very closely after she decided to pass on the opportunity to work with her almost a year ago. In hindsight she knew she made the right decision. Shaw's work had taken her team on a tour around multiple countries in several months. Despite the lost opportunity, the job just wasn't a good fit for her at this point in her life. Luckily she had gotten a job at the local newspaper. She was finally given her own weekly column not too long ago.

When she heard that Jane Shaw was back in New York, she immediately jumped at the opportunity to do a feature on her and her body of work for her next column. She got approval from her editor, made the phone call to Jane Shaw's office, who said that it would be a pleasure to do an interview with her, and 2 days later she was on the red eye to New York.

She had to admit that she was excited to be the one leaving for business this time, while Ricky was the one to stay home and deal with all the domestic responsibilities.

Now she was in New York sitting across this amazing journalist, as she recounted her research to Amy. Jane Shaw smiled at this before giving her response. You couldn't doubt how passionate Shaw was about her work. Amy recognized the feeling associated with that look. It brought her back to her own research travels, and felt a small feeling of envy.

 _"_ _Well first of, I think learning about these tribes and what we would now call traditional communities forces people to understand a different perspective than the one they're use to. I think as a by product of being born in the 21_ _st_ _century, we often take so many things we have for granted. Knowing that there are still communities that exist solely on the land alone makes what the rest of society doing to the earth for the sake of 'progress' and 'economics' inexcusable really" Shaw replied_

Amy nodded as she wrote down a few key notes. She was voice recording the interview so she didn't have to write everything down word for word, but took down a few key notes to help her remember some important details. Amy asked a few more questions before she finally got everything she needed for her article.

 _"_ _Thank you again for doing this interview, I know what a busy schedule you must have so I really appreciate this"_ Amy said as she shook Ms. Shaw's hand.

"Oh really Amy, like I said it's not trouble at all. And I meant what I said on the phone, you can call me if you ever need help with anything" **.**

 _"_ _Yes, absolutely will do"_ Amy replied as Jane Shaw walked her out.

Once outside she took a minute to take in the scenery. She didn't realize how much she missed this place. It has been almost 2 years since she's been back here. She took her phone out of her bag and turned it on to call Ricky. Before she was able to do anything her phone immediately started beeping like crazy as she received an influx of delayed messages - all from Ricky.

 _BEEP_

 **Did you tell John he couldn't have his ipad this week?**

 _BEEP_

 **John just told me he had hockey today, I thought that was Wednesdays?**

 _BEEP_

 **What time does he have to be there for practice?**

 _BEEP_

 **Never mind, called Bill – he confirmed practice was tonight – time confirmed also**

 _BEEP_

 **Your dad called bout taking John somewhere this wknd?**

Amy let out a loud sigh. Leaving Ricky with John had been quite the eye opening experience. Like honestly? Honestly, who is this man? There is no way he had just gone completely clueless like this in a year. Ever since she got to New York it was none stop explaining to Ricky about basic house keeping things. Things like where are the things they bought for John's project that he had to finish, or what was he suppose to bring for John's potluck day at school. He couldn't even feed the kid. Are they still allowed tuna sandwiches for lunch? Or is it just peanut butter they can't bring? Like why wouldn't they be allowed tuna sandwiches? Basic, basic things and he couldn't handle it.

It was almost hard to believe that he had done this for four years while she was in school and now for some reason he couldn't handle it for 2 days?! Not even 2 days! As soon as she had left he was already non stop texting her with the most ridiculous and basic of questions.

What happened to the man who usually had everything under control especially when it came to John? Lately it seemed like if it didn't have to do with his work, or Advertising or whatever up and coming starter company was launching at the moment it might as well be rocket science for him, it either didn't make any sense or he had no time for it.

Sometimes, she felt bad about complaining how much time Ricky spent at work. She knew how much it meant to him, and she wants to be supportive. After all, even though they weren't together at the time, he supported her decision to go to Hudson for four years. And really it wouldn't bother her so much if he didn't miss so many important events when it came to John. It had gotten gradually worst in the past few months. First he would just be late for a practice or a school event. Then he would call a few hours before apologizing that he might not be able to make it but 'he's trying his best to get out of work in time', and now – lately - he's just forgotten things all together.

She clicked on the call button beside one of Ricky's text to call

 _MOM?_ John's voice came through the line

 _"_ _Hi John how are you I miss…"_ Amy was cut off before she could even finish her sentence.

" _MOM! Dad can't find my skates and we're going to be late for practice we were late for school yesterday and he practically forgot to pick me up I was waiting forever!"_ John wailed on the other end.

She opened her mouth to try and calm him down mid breath, but John spoke out again before she could say anything.

"…a _nd we couldn't find my worksheet for my project and its due tomorrow! When are you coming home?"_

Amy gave out a quiet sigh before replying

 _"_ _I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Where is your dad"_

 _"_ _He's looking for my skates…DAD? DAD! Mom is on the phone. Can't you come back earlier?"_

 _"_ _Sorry bud but my flight doesn't get out till tomorrow"_

She heard a heavy footsteps from the other end before Ricky's voice came through the line

 _"_ _Aimes thank God, I've been texting you all morning. Where are John's skates?"_

 _"_ _Hi babe, I miss you too"_ Amy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

 _"_ _Sorry babe, it's just been crazy here without you. I can't really talk we're already running late for practice and I can't find John's skates"_

 _"_ _It should be in his hockey bag"_

 _"_ _We already looked there it's not in there"_ Ricky said almost impatiently.

 _"_ _Well they were there last time"_ Amy replied also getting rather impatient.

 _"_ _Well unless there's a secret compartment or they've suddenly gone invisible they're not here. There is a pair of baseball mitts though, like why are there mitts here?"_

 _"_ _oh my god Ricky, that's not the right bag. Those are from last season. The ones this year is black"_

 _"_ _What? Why on earth does he have two bags?_ " Ricky said, frustration now clearly evident in his voice.

" _Because he switched to the minor team this year, it's a different team Ricky you knew this"_

 _"_ _Okay well where are those ones?"_

 _"_ _In the laundry closet, probably beside where you grabbed that one from"_ Amy said, now completely exasperated.

 _"_ _Okay thanks babe, I gotta go we're really late"_ She heard a bunch of doors closing and shuffling " _JOHN! John, I found them, come say by to mom_ "

 _"_ _Mom?"_

 _"_ _Hi John, have a good practice okay, I'll see you tomorrow"_

 _"_ _K bye Mom"_

Before she could say anything else the phone went dead.

Amy ran her hand through her hair, which had probably gone half grey in the last 5 minutes during that phone call and walked towards her hotel room. She had planned to do some sigh seeing after her interview but that phone call had just literally sucked all the energy out of her. Now all she wanted was to get into something comfortable and lie down, maybe with a tall glass of wine. She checked her watch. It was still pretty early. She figured she could grab some lunch to go, take it to the hotel and then go for a walk in the afternoon so that the trip wouldn't be completely ruined. She turned and headed to the direction of Broadway in search of one of her old time favourite cafe.

 **Ricky**

Ricky was busy typing up a proposal for the latest ad campaign their team was working on. Amy had gotten back from her work trip in New York this morning and had the day off. Since it had been a crazy few days for him and John, Amy and him decided it would be a good idea to let John take the day off from school. Amy figured it would be nice to spend a mother, son day together. Ricky left home a lot earlier than usual. He wanted to get to work extra early to get a head start on the day. He was hoping the quiet time in the office before everyone else showed up would allow him to catch up on some paper work, before having to focus on the creative. He barely looked up the whole time he was at his desk and the next thing he knew the office was buzzing with people and it was time for to meet with the team to discuss their next project. He decided to skip lunch and use that hour to work on the proposal. He was so focused on his work that he barely heard the soft knock on his door.

" _Ricky_?"

Finally, Ricky looked up.

 _"_ _Adrian hey"_ he said taking a break from his work, looking a little bit surprise " _What are you doing here?"_

Adrian stepped in towards the office so she was now leaning against the door frame.

 _"_ _My firm hired you guys to do an ad for them. I'm here as the rep helping consult for our firm"_

 _"'_ _That's right, I think I heard that. You're working with Bruce right?"_

Adrian flashed what she hoped was a pretty seductive looking smile. Yeah, they were no longer together, but this was Ricky. She knew who he was, and if there was anyone who could remind him of his past and lead him astray from this lame straight arrow life he was leading, she knew it was her. Since her manager mentioned trying to update the companies image, she knew exactly which company to recommend. She saw this as a perfect opportunity to try and get close to him again. And from there who knows what could happen.

 _"_ _Yeah, fun guy that Bruce"_ Adrian said chuckling a little

Ricky let out a small chuckle in response. " _He's a little old school, but he's great at what he does. He's been doing it a long time"_

" _You know, I heard there's another big shot here that's pretty much killing the whole company on accounts_ " Adrian winked and leaned slightly forward towards Ricky.

Again Ricky only let out a small chuckle

" _We do alright"_ he said as he put his arms behind his head and leaned back into his leather work chair.

 _"_ _Shame we couldn't team up on this one"_

Again Ricky gave out a laugh.

 _"_ _Yeah well, I don't know if we're the right team for your firm. Our clients usually cater to the millennials and millennials and finance don't exactly mix, that's all Bruce and his team"_

Adrian was starting to feel a little disappointed that Ricky didn't seem to be biting on her flirtatious advances. He's been with Amy so long, that he must be loosing it. He doesn't seem to notice a girl trying to clearly flirt with him.

Adrian decided to back off a bit for now. After all, she was sure there would be plenty of time to try and get Ricky to bite. It was just a matter of working a bit more of her magic.

 _"_ _Alright well I'll let you get back to work, but hopefully I see you around"_

 _"_ _Sure Adrian, take care"_

She turned to leave. Before she stepped out of the office she placed one hand on the frame and turned her head back to give him a smile and say goodbye, but his focussed had already gone back to his computer screen, busy with what he was working on before she had interrupted him.

It may have been a while but she was sure that she could still turn Ricky's attention. It was just a matter of time. Luckily she had a good excuse to see him frequently and she planned to take full advantage of that.


	10. Chapter 10

**Amy and John**

Still dressed in her robe, Amy poured herself a hot cup of tea standing in front of the kitchen counter that looked out into the rest of their tiny apartment. It was almost 9:30 in the morning, which was considered late by their standards. Usually her and Ricky was up before the sun, and John getting woken up shortly after. They were a young family of only three, but sometimes it felt as busy as if they were parents to sextuplets. From the moment they wake up to the time they all get to bed at night, its is literally none-stop with a day full of things going on. Not just for Ricky and Amy either, who as is, already had pretty busy work schedules. John too, as a 9 year old had a busier schedule than Ricky and Amy had combined when they were that age. He was an active 9 year old, that took an interest in everything. Given the rocky start they had when he was little, they didn't exactly provide him with the most stable of childhoods, John and Amy were adamant about making sure he didn't miss out on anything he wanted to do. Problem is there was almost nothing John didn't want to do.

Living in California, most kids his age had parents who were almost a decade older than his own. The kids in his school came from your stereo typical upper class Californian families. 2.5 kids, Dad goes to work in his 60 thousand luxury car, while mom drives the kids around in an SUV (not mini van – there's a big distinction) and spends the day doing yoga or meeting her bffs for brunch while the kids are in school or daycare.

Hence, John was surrounded with kids who were involved in almost everything you could possibly be involved in under the sun. And California is not a state lacking of after school activities. If anything there was too much. Amy remembered opening John's backpack one afternoon and was almost attacked by a pile of promotional flyers that was sent home by the school. When Amy was younger, there was soccer and baseball for the boys, and ballet or gymnastics for girls. Of course they were targeted towards genders back then. Everything else was an afterschool club activity ran by a teacher volunteering their time. Now while those sports are still as popular, there was also mini rock climbers, young artists of California, Sword Sparring, Junior Chefs, Master Bakers…you name an activity there was an organization within two miles of your house to offer it.

Each month John was begging to join the flavour of the month. " _Please dad please can I take martial arts lessons? Please? 4 of my friends are going and I don't want to be the only one_ "

Ricky who didn't grow up with any of it always had a hard time saying no. One of the main reasons for working so hard to establish himself is so that John can have all the opportunities he would have wanted for himself growing up. And if it meant steering him away from the path he had gone through as a child, then it was a small price to pay.

Amy however, had a very similar life style to that of John's friends and wasn't swayed by any of it. She grew up in a two parent, middle class family in California and well…look how that turned out.

Amy brought the tea cup to her lips using both hands as she continued to stand in the quiet of her kitchen, just starring out into the rest of the apartment. It wasn't too long ago that the sight in front of her would have been a small crew updating the space to make it livable for herself and John. Now their tiny living room was stuffed with evidence of how busy their life has gotten just this past year.

John was still asleep and she contemplated whether to just let him wake up on his own accord or finally get him out of bed. It was a weekday but she decided that she was going to take a day off after coming back in late from her New York trip and had told Ricky that maybe she would let John stay home with her that day. It's been a while since they as a family had actually spent leisurely time together and not running around from one activity to the next. Amy knew of course, that Ricky wouldn't be able to take the time off. In fact, he took of earlier than usual for work this morning to get a head start to his day. But hey, 2 out 3 ain't bad right? She thought back to the time where they all looked forward to Sundays. It meant that there was no where any on them needed to be and they could all spend it as they please, together as a family. Sundays was the day for sleeping in and doing whatever they felt like doing at the moment. Amy and Ricky stay cuddled together in bed, just laying together, sometimes they talked about their week or giggle at the small little things, teasing each other or doing other things. They'd stay in bed as long as they could until a bouncy little boy would run into their room and jump into bed with them. They would all stay in bed for a little while longer until one of them would complain about being hungry and Ricky would get up and make John's favourite breafast of waffles, and hot chocolate and put on a cup of coffee for Amy and himself. Amy and John would be cuddled together on the sofa watching morning cartoons, until Ricky was finished with breakfast and as a treat would all get to enjoy it cuddled on the couch in front of the tv. Now she can't remember the last time they had done that. She could barely remember the last time Ricky and her were in the place for more than half a day together.

Halfway through her tea, she figured she better jump in the shower then wake John up so they can start their day. Lazy days like these were rare and she didn't want to waste away any more time.

Less than 20 minutes later, she was showered and dressed and made her way into John's room to wake him.

She opened the door where John was still sleeping. He has gotten so big and already was outgrowing the bed she got for him a little over a year ago. She walked over and sat by the side of the bed.

 _"_ _John honey, get up"_ She said softly gently shaking his arm.

She did this for a few minutes before John finally shifted.

 _"_ _Come on bud, we gotta go, it's getting pretty late"_

Finally John opened his eyes letting out a yawn as he stretched his arms up over his head.

 _"_ _Where are we going?"_ He asked his voice horse from sleep.

 _"_ _I was thinking we can go down to the city, maybe check out the aquarium we haven't been in ages and then see the new exhibit at the museum"_

" _Oh yeah they have the new fossil exhibit"_ John said now a little more enthused and awake. He remembered some of the kids from school talking about it.

" _Yeah the pre historic one, so come on get showered you have 15 minutes to get ready_ " Amy said getting up off of John's bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was already 1:30 in the afternoon by the time John and Amy had finished exploring the museum and John was complaining of hunger. Since they had a late start to their day, Amy had made breakfast smoothies for her and John, along with an PB and J sandwich for John to have on the way to the city, but hadn't had anything since then.

They were only a couple of blocks from Ricky's work and Amy thought it might be nice if Ricky could join them for lunch.

 _"_ _Mom what are we eating I'm starving!_ " John protested for what seemed like the 10th time.

" _Let me call your dad, maybe he can come have lunch with us"_ Amy pulled out her phone to call Ricky, while John waited as patiently as he could as he walked beside his mother.

Ricky didn't pick up his work phone so she tried getting him on his cell. After several rings Ricky's voicemail came on.

"Hi you've reached Ricky Underwood, Marketing and Graphic Engineer for Emer and Sons. Sorry I can't take your call right now, but please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can"

 **Beep**.

 _"Hey, John and I are close by and we thought maybe you'd want to join us for lunch. We might head down for some Pizza or Burgers at the small family restaurant on 5_ _th_ _street"_ Amy said looking at John to see if that sounded good to him, who nodded back in response _"it's about 1:30 right now so we should be there in about 10 minutes. Hopefully we see you, if not see you tonight"_

 _"_ _So you okay with going to Bartelos?_ " Amy asked John after she hung up the call.

 _"_ _Yeah that's okay. Is dad meeting us there?"_ John asked hopeful

" _I'm not sure, I could only get both his voicemails but it is pretty late he might be in a meeting or have had lunch already, so I wouldn't count on it. We tried though right?"_

" _Yeah"_ John said feeling a little let down. Getting to skip school and spending the day with his mom was nice, but it would have been great if his dad could come along. He thought back when it was just his dad and him doing stuff together. He remembered him being busy then too, but never this busy. He still always found the time to at least see some of his games. His favorite was getting to watch his dad play, when he use to play hockey and hung out with the other kids whose dad was on the team.

Amy sensed John's disappointment and felt guilty for getting his hopes up. She knew that it was a long shot but thought there was at least no harm in trying, but didn't realize that John wouldn't see it the same way.

 _"_ _Listen bud, I know dad and I have been super busy lately"_

" _Dad especially"_ John said quietly

" _Yeah dad especially"_ Amy continued carefully _"but that's part of his job. He really loves what he does John and he works really really hard at it. Sometimes that means having to put in a lot of time and effort. Kinda like when you go to those optional practices when you don't have to for hockey. You like it right?"_

 _"_ _I love it"_ John replied, feeling a sense of pride.

Amy had to smile at that. She knew how much John loved hockey, there were days when she'd let him stay a little longer after practice with a bunch of other boys on his team and practically had to drag him off the ice to get him to leave.

" _And you work hard to be better at it, but that means also spending a lot more time at the rink. That's exactly the same for dad and his work. And that's a big reason why dad is so good at what he does. Just like why you've become so good at what you do"_

And it was true. Amy was starting to realize how similar Ricky and John were. When they loved something they dedicated everything they had to it. She wasn't just being a 'proud' parent. Any unbiased observer can tell how good John is at playing hockey. His second year on the team, he had the highest amount of goals and was brought up to the Junior league after he just turned 9, about half a year early. Already he was outscoring some of the older kids in the league.

 _"_ _Plus it means I can stay home and not have to work as much"_ Amy continued with a smile

 _"_ _But you still do?_ " John said, almost accusingly.

Amy had to pause at that. The only reason Amy had taken a part time job at the paper in the first place was just so there wouldn't be such big gaps in her resume when she was finally ready for a more serious job. Ricky was making more than enough to support the three of them, and initially the two of them figured what a luxury it was that Amy could if she wanted, just stay at home and not have to work. The paper was only to keep up with her writing and for the experience of a formal job. However, she suddenly realized that slowly she had taken on more and more at work and didn't realize the effect it was having on their son.

 _"_ _You're right bud, I've let work get the better of me lately, but I promise it's going to get better."_ Amy vowed to not let herself get to occupied at work. She couldn't control how much time Ricky was spending at work or how busy he was, but she knew she didn't have to spend as much time at the paper as much as she had lately. The last few weeks were an exception as she did that article on Jane Shaw, but after that's out and published she was going to do what was required out of her from her job and that's it. She wouldn't keep trying to take on any more extra assignments like she had been.

Amy rubbed the top of John's head as they neared the restaurant. She realized at how lucky she was to have this wonderful, well rounded boy who just accepted his parents for what they were. She missed a lot of his young life while she was away in New York and never had he held that against her. She knew it could have gone a lot different. He could have resented her for leaving. But he didn't. He continued being this happy, up beat little boy that always - without fail, gave her a running hug the second he saw her at the airport. Who would tell her stories at a hundred miles an hour – rarely stopping to breathe to try and catch her up on what was going on his little life, whenever he saw her. Who never intentionally made her feel guilty for having to leave him again and again and just understood that going to school so far away was just something his mother had to do. And for that, she was eternally grateful.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Preview: Trouble in Paradise? It's not the Secret Life without Drama between these two fan favourites :p Hopefully they work everything out? Trying to bring other characters back in as well.**

 **Amy**

" _Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer_ "

John laid under his sheets, curled onto his side. Amy was sitting beside him reading from the book ' _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ '. There were a lot of things John complained about being too old for, goodbye kisses before getting dropped off at school, 'love you' notes snuck in his lunch bag by his mother…but one thing he still loved having his parents do was read to him before bed. Sometimes they would take turns reading each page and sometimes he would read out a chapter or two or until he was too tired to continue. It was a bed time ritual that Amy had started with John as a baby, which Ricky had continued when Amy was away at Hudson. Now it was almost always Amy doing the bed time reading. Not that she minded. She always loved this time with John. And now that he was older, they had moved on to some of the chapter book classics she grew up loving reading as a child. Right now they were reading " _The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis"_.

She finished reading the last sentence of the chapter before glancing at John who was fighting to keep his eyes open.

" _Alright bud, we'll end it here for now. Time for sleep_ " She closed the book, then leaned over to kiss John on the forehead.

She pulled the covers up just as she heard the front door opening.

" _Hey, John just fell asleep_ " She said to Ricky as she walked out of John's room

Ricky was putting his coat away in the closet then picked up the box of work he had brought home with him as he walked over to give Amy a kiss on the temple.

" _Let me just put this down and I'll go say goodnight to him_ " Ricky placed the box of papers on the kitchen counter before crossing the living room to John's room, coming out only a few minutes later.

" _I was hoping to catch him semi awake, but he's out"_ Ricky plopped himself down on the couch, loosening his tie.

Amy picked up the tea she had just finished making for herself before walking over to sit on the single chair in the living room across from Ricky.

 _"_ _That's too bad. He hasn't seen you at all today_ " Amy tucked her feet under her and made herself comfortable on the small chair.

Ricky rubbed his face with his hand, completely exhausted.

" _I know, it's just works insane right now. I'm already late with one of our projects as it is_ "

Amy wondered if this was a good time to bring up the conversation she had with John earlier that day. She hated that John was the one being affected by their lack of family time and Ricky needed to know how John felt.

"J _ohn and tried calling you today We were near your work and thought you could join us for lunch_ "

" _Yeah sorry babe. I was in a meeting when you called. I was going to call you back, just didn't get the chance"_

Amy was about to say something else, when she was interrupted by Ricky's cell phone.

Ricky pulled it out of his pocket and started reading the text message he just got.

" _So I was talking to John today and I'm a little worried about him_ "

Ricky however was too pre-occupied with the text message and didn't appear to hear what Amy had just said.

" _Uh Ricky?_ " She said almost a little annoyed.

" _Yeah?"_

 _"_ _Did you not just hear what I said about John?"_

 _"_ _Uh sorry babe, I'm just….hold on let me…get this text out"_

 _"_ _ **RICKY**_ _!"_

Startled Ricky looked up, looking at Amy like she had just lost her mind.

" _Amy geez what the hell?"_

She was trying to have a conversation with him about their son, who he's barely seen this month because he's been too preoccupied with work and **he** was the one getting mad? Amy tried to be understanding about Ricky's insane work schedule, but she had just now reached her boiling point and this time didn't bother holding back.

" _Don't Ricky. Don't. Don't you_ _ **dare**_ _take that tone with me right now"_ She hissed, trying to raise her voice as to not disturb John from his sleep. The last thing she wanted after having him feel neglected by his parents was to have him hear them fighting about him too.

" _For god's sake Amy I JUST got home. I'm exhausted. I'm trying to get a hundred things done. I've barely said 10 words to you and already you're snapping at me"_ Ricky was also trying to keep his voice down, but was doing a terrible job at it.

 _"_ _Exactly! You've barely said anything to me! We rarely see each other and when you do we rarely talk. And now here I am trying to tell you something you might care to know about, but you're too busy being in your own world to notice, or care!_ ".

Ricky sighed. He really didn't want to do this with Amy right now. It wasn't just work he was dealing with at the moment. There was something else that was preoccupying Ricky's mind, but he just simply couldn't share it with Amy right now.

" _Can we please just not do this now? I really…I just don't have the energy for it_ " Ricky said practically pleading with Amy.

Amy on the other hand was absolutely fuming. She was doing her best to hold back tears. She wasn't looking to start a fight with Ricky. She had just wanted to make him aware of the lack of attention their son has been getting lately. She was mostly frustrated for John. She knew John deserved a lot better than what he had to go through sometimes and she wanted to change it for his sake and wanted Ricky to know that he needed to be there for him too. Instead he didn't want to hear any of it.

Amy too, was suddenly exhausted. So instead of persuing the subject, she decided to drop it.

" _Yeah fine Ricky. You let me know when you can make time in your schedule for your family. I'll make sure to pencil you in"_ She said sarcastically as she got up and walked over to the bedroom, purposefully slamming the door behind her.

 **Ricky**

Ricky was staring at his computer screen, passing a baseball back and forth between his hands. He was thinking about the fight that he had with Amy the night before. After she had slammed the bedroom door, Ricky sat in the living room for a long while just staring at the ceiling. When he finally decided to join Amy in bed, the tension between them was so high he barely got any sleep. At around 4:00 after drifting in and out of sleep and wondering whether or not Amy was also having a hard time falling asleep but dared not to look in her direction, he got out of bed, laid on the living room sofa and opened his laptop where he stayed until it was time to shower and get ready for work a few hours later.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.

"P _enny for your thoughts?"_ Adrian said with a grin, walking in and leaning against the wall right beside the entrance to his small office.

She purposely wore a tight black work dress the showed off her curves, knowing that had to drop by Ricky's office today. While it got the attention of many of the male workers that day, she had yet get the reaction she wanted from the one man she was seeking it from.

" _Adrian hey, how's it going?_ " He asked looking up and forcing a smile. He was still passing the ball in his hand.

" _You looked pretty out of it there. What are you thinking about?_ "

" _Just brainstorming in my head"_ Ricky chuckled, trying to seem nonchalant.

Adrian turned her attention to a few vision boards that were sitting on an easel by Ricky. She walked over and ran a finger through the drawing.

" _Oh cool, what company is this for?_ " She asked her back turned to Ricky.

Ricky had to swivel his chair to see what Adrian was talking about.

" _That's actually a teaser banner for the Sharks season_ "

Adrian turned her head to look at Ricky. " _You mean the San Jose Sharks? Like California's NHL hockey team?_ "

" _Yeah_ " Ricky couldn't help the grin forming on his face. He remembered how stoked he was when he got the account. Ideas running in his head at a hundred miles an hour as soon as he heard.

" _Whoa. I knew you guys were quite the hot shots around here but I didn't realize how big you guys actually were_ " Adrian said actually quite impressed and trying to be flirtatious at the same time. Also a little annoyed that this 'big shot' was once hers until she got dumped for someone who was barely half the woman she clearly was. She was probably couldn't excite him in the bedroom if she went to a professional for advice.

" _I'd like to take credit, but it's my boss actually. I think he's good friends with one of their managers and he our team the account"_

 _"_ _Well it must say a lot about you if he chose your team"_

 _"_ _I mean, it was either us or you know, Bruce"_ Ricky said laughing as Adrian rolled her eyes upon hearing Bruce name.

" _So have you had lunch yet_?" Adrian asked, but then was cut off with the phone ringing.

" _Sorry Adrian, I'm going to have to take this._ " Ricky reached over and picked the receiver off the hook, and turned his body away from Adrian _"Ricky Underwood"_ he said into phone.

Adrian took a seat while she waited for Ricky to get off the phone.

" _…_ _alright. Yes, that sound great. Okay I'll see you in a bit"_

" _So anyways I was wondering if you wanted to maybe grab lunch together or something_ " Adrian continued her querry after Ricky had gotten off the phone.

Ricky got up and went to reach for his jacket. " _Actually, I have to go now to meet a client and get something signed. And honestly I rarely have time for a snack let alone take a lunch break, but I'll walk out with you_ "

" _Oh, well that's alright then_ " Adrian said in almost a too high pitched voice, trying to hide her disappointment. She turned and walked out of Ricky's office, while Ricky grabbed a file folder and followed Adrian out.

 **Amy**

 _"_ _Amy, question for you. I'm looking for a black leather jacket, I want to know what you think about this?_ "

Claire was stood beside Amy's cubicle at the paper and held out her phone to show her an image of a purchase she was contemplating.

Amy has been trying to do some editing for the past hour, but can't seem to get past the first paragraph before her mind either went blank or wandered into a different thought. Like Ricky, their fight from the night before was causing her from doing her job.

She took the phone from Claire's hand welcoming the distraction.

" _What the heck is this?_ " Amy took a few minutes to try and comprehend the picture she was looking at. When Claire said 'leather jacket' she was expecting a 'leather jacket'. Except the thing she was looking at was full of holes and had fringes at the bottom.

" _It's trending"_ Claire said defensively. " _I don't know I think it's different"._

" _Different doesn't necessarily equal good. Anyways, thanks_ " Amy said passing the phone back.

" _For what?"_

" _You just gave me an idea for my next article….The Do's and Don'ts When Buying a Leather Jacket_ " Amy joked.

" _Ha ha. You're so clever_ " Claire rolled her eyes and started scrolling through other images of her phone, when she remembered what she wanted to tell Amy.

" _Okay I have something to tell you., but I don't know if it's a big deal. But I think I have to tell you anyways_ "

" _Ok yeah?_ " Amy was prepared for some weird confession, maybe she had already bought that hideous thing and really didn't care about her opinion on it.

" _Okay, like I don't think we should jump to conclusions, I just think I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't like you know didn't tell you_ "

" _Okayyy?_ " Claire had Amy's full attention now. She was clearly dancing around something she wasn't comfortable with.

" _Okay so uhm the other day I was near Front Street…"_ Claire started before pausing again.

Amy gave her a look that clearly indicated 'go on?' as she was trying her best to be patient.

" _And I so I was getting a coffee at the Starbucks there. You know the one beside the cupcake place we went to that one time_ "

Amy was now trying to hold back the urge to just scream " _JUST TELL ME_!" but held her composure and quietly waited for Claire to continue.

" _Okay well….IsawAdrianwalkingoutofRicky'sofficebuilding_ "

Claire said the whole sentence in one single breath. Not taking a pause.

"What?"Amy asked not sure if she heard correctly.

 _"_ _I mean I think it's nothing, but like she works around the block from here. Why would she be there? I mean I thought you should just know. OR maybe you already know and now I just feel stupid_ "

 _"Oh"_ Amy said quietly

" _Oh my god, you didn't' know!_ "

 _"_ _It's fine Claire, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation"_

 _"_ _Like what?"_

 _"_ _I don't know"_ Amy said letting out a breath, blowing her bangs away " _but I'm sure it's nothing_ "

" _Are you going to ask Ricky about it?"_

 _"_ _How would that conversation go? Hey Ricky my friend saw your ex walking out of your office building. Care to tell me why you never told me about it?"_

 _"_ _Uh yeah. Yeah, I think that's perfectly good place to start"_ Claire said. She didn't know much about Ricky but from the interactions they've had with Adrian, the girl was a full on bitch.

 _"_ _I don't know. Look, I've got a lot of work to do. I'll catch up with you at lunch okay?"_

 _"_ _Amy…"_ Claire didn't want to leave without making sure she was okay.

 _"_ _Claire it's fine"_ Amy said dismissing the whole subject. " _Really, I have to get back to this_ "

" _Yeah, alright. I'll talk to you later then_ " Claire said a bit cautiously. She knew Amy well enough to know that this definitely bothered her, but why as she acting like it wasn't? Regardless she figured if she didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to push her.

 _"_ _Yup"_ Amy replied as Claire walked away without looking up from her work.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Preview: Is John growing up to be just like Ricky? Adrian drama on hold for now**

 **Amy and John**

Amy and John had just gotten through the front door of their small apartment when Amy's phone began to ring.

" _Oh god what? What is it now?"_ Amy thought in frustration, as she struggled to get herself and the three bag of things she was carrying through the door. John meanwhile managed to squeeze himself around Amy, and walked in kicking his shoes off and dropping his backpack right in the middle of the hallway. Before Amy could tell him to pick it up and put it away properly, John had already disappeared into his room, while her phone continued to ring.

" _Oh for crying out loud"_ She said as she finally fished her phone out of her pocket, swiping to pick up the call just in time before she missed it.

" _Hello?_ " She walked around John's backpack making a mental note to make sure he came back and put it away properly.

" _Hi Mrs. Underwood?"_ A voice she somewhat recognizes said from the other end.

" _It's Jeurgen's actually_. _Underwood is my partners last name"_ She corrected. She had gotten used to saying partner since the term 'boyfriend' didn't seem quite right when referring to the man she shared a house and a child with. It was also confusing to those who didn't know them well since she was the only one of the three that didn't share the same last name.

" _Oh my apologies, is this Amy? John's mother?"_ Asked the voice

" _Yes, this is_?" she said it almost as a question, worry starting to creep in her mind.

" _Hi, Ms. Jeurgens. It's Amanda Clements. Logan's mom. Our son plays hockey together and I believe they're also in the same class at school_ " Amy's worry subsided a little bit as familiarity crept in. Amanda was one of the nicer hockey moms from John's team. They've chatted a few times, but they weren't close. She wasn't really close to any of them really, but it was mostly because the moms were just a bit older and she had nothing in common with any of them. Ricky on the other hand seemed to get along well with most of the dads. She attributed it to the fact that guys pretty much stayed at the same maturity level no matter what their age was. Hockey dad's especially. They were all bred the same.

" _Hi yes, I know Logan"_ Did they miss some important practice they were suppose to go to? Was she the head of some social committee she didn't know about and they've missed an important event? Amy's mind was running away from her with a bunch of reasons why this woman she barely spoke to could be calling her.

" _Yes, I'm so sorry to bother you Amy. I got your number from the parent contact list_ " She started them paused, as if thinking of what to say.

 _"_ _No, no it's alright please go on"_

 _"_ _Right, so the reason I'm calling is, well my son came home with a hockey stick today that is definitely not his. It also appears to be brand new. When I asked him about it he said he won it from a bet"_

Amy pinched her eyes. Oh god. She already knew where this was going. Please don't be something stupid and embarrassing she thought.

She wasn't exactly sure how to respond so she just said _"oh?"_ inviting Amanda to give her more details.

" _Apparently Logan made a bet with your son, and your son offered him his brand new stick. I just want to apologize and know that Logan IS going to give it right back. I know how expensive these equipments are_ ".

Aaaannd there it was. Exactly what she figured happened.

" _Oh my goodness. I hope it wasn't over something serious? Please tell me they didn't do anything dangerous, did they?"_ She wasn't so much worried about the hockey stick as she was about the act that caused him to give it away in the first place, like betting someone they couldn't eat something poisonous, or something equally disturbing. God forbid, the last thing she needed right now was a phone call from the principal of John's school some kid getting sent to the hospital over a bet or a dare.

" _No, no it seems like they were playing a game and they decided to put a wager on it. I mean it sounds so silly, they're only 9 and they're basically gambling already"_ She laughed. Amy decided she had a friendly laugh. " _I don't think it's anything to worry about. I just wanted to make sure my son isn't just taking advantage of other people and taking things that aren't his over silly bets. I talked to him about it and told him he's not to play games where he ends up with other peoples things. Certainly not $200 hockey sticks_ "

Amy sighed, relieved. Thank goodness. But in her mind she was already blaming Ricky. If there was anyone John would learn this behaviour from, it was most likely Ricky and the cast of hooligans that he hangs out with.

" _Oh well that's a relief. I'm glad it wasn't anything serious. Although I'm sure the boys know better than to do things that would cause them harm or danger. Anyways thank you for letting me know. Would it be alright if I call you back to discuss this? I'd like to talk to John about it as well_ "

" _Yes of course, of course. Did you need my number? I'm listed on the parents contact as well"_

" _Its fine thank you, I have call display – is this number okay to call you back at?"_

 _"_ _Yes it's my cellphone, so that'd be fine Amy"_

Amy thanked her again then hanged up.

 _"_ _JOHN UNDERWOOD_!" Amy yelled out.

"Yeah?" A voice called out from the second bedroom.

 _"_ _Get your butt out here right now mister"_

John appeared moments later

 _"_ _Yeah?"_ He asked cautiously. He could tell right away this was not a good thing.

" _So interesting enough, I just got a phone call from Logan's mom. You wouldn't have any idea why she would call me would you_?"

" _No_?" John stood by his bedroom door. Not exactly sure what his mom was talking about.

" _Really? Well what's also interesting is that I can't seem to locate your new hockey stick? You know, the one your dad got for you just this weekend_?"

" _Oh"_ John said realization starting to sink in.

 _"_ _John…"_

" _What? At gym Logan bet me that I couldn't get make 10 shots in a row in under 8 seconds, even though I already did like so many times and I would have gotten all 10 if it wasn't for this other stupid boy who threw a ball and interfered with my last shot!"_ John was practically whining.

" _First of all, I don't ever want to hear you calling anyone 'stupid'. It's not okay and I'm sure you wouldn't want people saying that about you and second of all…so you bet your hockey stick? After you basically begged your dad to get you a new one because the one you had before wasn't as good anymore and was making it hard for you to play? And you just gave it away?"_

" _I didn't think I'd loose. I already did it before! Like so many times!"_ John was definitely whining this time.

" _John that isn't the point. You don't just gamble away your things. You might not think it's a big deal now, but your dad bought that for you. So you can use it. For hockey. Your dad and I work really hard to get you things, and how do you think he's going to feel when he finds out you gave you new stick, which cost a lot of money I should add, over a bet with your friend?"_

" _Dad makes bets with me all the time_!" John said naturally defending himself.

Amy didn't have a good rebuttal for John, because what he was saying was true. She's warned Ricky many times about this bad habit he was teaching their son. Of course, he laughs it off like it's nothing. Tells her not to worry. Well he's not the one getting embarrassing phone calls from other parents.

I'll kill him. Amy thought to herself, and let her mind wander in frustration. He's done. I'm done. I'm flying away to New Mexico. I can leave, become a world renown journalist. Win awards. Other journalist would write features about me. I'll be famous, sign autographs everywhere I go. Be invited to make commencement speeches at Harvard. Ricky and John could live as they please, betting their whole life away. Hell they can walk around in paper bags as far as she cared. It's not like either of them would listen to her anyway. This was her life living with two boys. It was always 2 against 1.

Realistically though, she wasn't going anywhere. But she was definitely going to have a talk to Ricky about this. And it was going to be tonight, and she didn't care what kind of mood he was in. And god save him if he tries to protest with her given her current mood. Also right now, at this moment, she wasn't an award winning journalist living in New Mexico. She was a mother to a 9 year old boy and she had to act like it.

" _I'm going to have to let your dad know about this and we are not done talking about it. Right now I want you to pick up your things off our hallway, put it away properly and you can either choose to do a chore or do homework. No games_ " Amy said sternly knowing that the reason why John disappears so quickly in his room was so he can get on his IPAD.

 _"_ _Oh come on!"_

 _"_ _John don't test me right now"_

 _"_ _Can I play after when I'm done"_ he asked still in a whining tone

 _"_ _Chore or homework, John? What is it going to be?"_

" _Okay, okay fine. I'll do homework_ " John said walking over to where his backpack was.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Amy was making dinner when she heard keys unlocking the front door. She glanced at the clock, it wasn't even 5:00, less than an hour after she had the conversation with John. Who was, as he said, doing his homework on the small kitchen table.

That can't be Ricky already she thought. The door opened causing both John and her to look up in surprise as Ricky walked in through the front door. They have gotten so used to him coming home late, sometimes even after John had already gone to bed.

" _Dad_!" John exclaimed in surprise from the kitchen table.

Ricky dropped his things, not bothering to take his jacket off and walked over to kiss John on top of his head and ruffle his hair.

" _You're home early"_ Amy said a bit surprised.

Ricky walked over to Amy, and enthusiastically picked her up " _And how's my girl_?" he asked as he spun her around and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

John has shifted his focus back on his math homework. He only had a few more questions to do and then was hoping his mom would let him play on the Ipad even though she never gave him an answer earlier.

" _Well someone's in a good mood_ " Amy said suspiciously as Ricky set her down.

He knew in the back of his mind that he wasn't completely off the hook from the night before. And given the formal way she was addressing him at the moment, he knew that it was her way of letting him know that he definitely wasn't off the hook. But right now he was in too good of a mood and his one goal was to lighten his girl up and spend some time with his son. Something he hadn't done in a while, especially now that one of the biggest load he was dealing with was finally off his back.

" _I got it_!" Ricky exclaimed before giving her one final kiss and walked over to the fridge, still with the biggest grin on his face. He took of his jacket and put it on the back of one of the stools before grabbing a cold beer from the fridge.

" _I got Below Zero to commit to us for another three years_!"

" _Well I kind of figured they would_ " Amy said not surprised at all " _That project you did for them is doing really well"_

And it was, their adds were plastered all over the place and she remembered Ricky talking about the company's quarterly report having gone up. If he wasn't thinking about marketing, he was checking the stock value of the companies he worked for as a way to measure the success of their marketing project for that company, since he didn't have access to any of their financials.

" _Got it signed today…so what do you all say we all go out for dinner tonight_?" Ricky exclaimed.

This got John's attention, who looked up from his homework.

" _Yesssss_ " He said pumping his fist. Maybe they'd go to grandpa George. He'd eat burgers from his grandpa's restaurant everyday if his parents would let him.

" _What? Ricky, I already started dinner_ " Amy said protesting a little.

Ricky looked over at the counter to see what Amy was putting together " _Aimes, babe you put garlic in a pan and you're chopping up carrots. We can save the chopped up carrots for something else another time_ " Ricky quipped, as a way to point out that Amy hasn't really gotten that far with dinner anyway.

" _Well where would we go_?" She asked still using a serious tone and continuing to chop at the carrots

" _Let's get burgers from Grandpas_!" John said not missing a beat.

" _I'm okay with that?"_ Ricky looked questioningly at Amy.

Amy took a few minutes to stare into Ricky's enquiring eyes, who was looking a bit smug knowing he'd won her over. She slightly shook her head at him with a slight look of disbelief, but couldn't help letting a small smile escape her.

These two, these two - were seriously going to be the death of her. She wants so bad to be upset with the two of them at the moment but sometimes it was so very hard to stay mad. They might pull at her strings but they were just two big goofballs at the end of the day and they were her goofballs.

 _"_ _Sure that's fine_ " Amy said with a final sigh, letting them know that she'd given in and turning off the stove.

" _BUT_ " she started looking straight at John. " _That doesn't mean YOU are off the hook about this afternoon. I am still going to talk to your dad about that, then we'll decided what we're going to do about it. Got it?"_

John nodded.

" _What happened this afternoon?"_ Ricky asked, raising a brow.

" _Oh don't you worry, you're going to hear all about it later_ " Amy said turning her attention to Ricky, still using a serious tone, and then changed it to a lighter one " _but for now let's get over to Grandpa's"_


	13. Chapter 13

**Amy and Ricky**

Ricky was standing beside the bed, wearing only his boxers and pulling some of the decorative pillows off the bed when Amy walked in.

" _John asleep?"_ He asked looking up.

Amy walked to the bed opposite of him and sat down on top of the sheets which were still made.

" _Not yet, I just tucked him in. We only read one chapter today_ "

Ricky finished putting away the pillows got on the bed and reached across, grabbing Amy around the waist and pulled her towards him. He flipped her over so she was now lying on her back and he was looking down on top of her.

" _Hmmm well I guess we'll just have to be really quiet then_ " he whispered, running one arm under her Hudson college sweater to feel her bare skin, using his other arm to prop himself up on his elbow. He bent down to kiss the side of her neck.

 _"_ _Ricky stop, stop_ " She whispered, but softly giggling at his actions.

Ricky knew, and had every intention of stopping but took his time and moved his kisses upwards towards her lips, then moments later moved towards her left ear.

" _Aww do we have to?"_ His voice was husky and low.

" _Come on"_ She said finally after a few minutes, wiggling slightly - a lazy attempt to get up from under him.

Ricky however continued to stay planted right on top of her, not moving and continued using his lips to lay soft gentle kiss around her face and neck.

" _What about if"_ Ricky continued, his voice even lower, stopping in between kisses to get some words out " _we. talk…after…you know_ " He kept telling himself a few more kisses, but couldn't pull himself away from her. He also enjoyed teasing Amy a bit, but also knew that he needed to stop soon before she got impatient with him.

" _Ricky"_ she sighed now moving her hand from his hair to gently push at the front of his shoulder signalling for him to move. There were a lot of things weighing on her mind.

Sighing Ricky placed one last kiss on the back of her ear then pulled himself up off her.

" _I can't help it, you're just too irresistible"_

Amy simply rolled her eyes at this, but smiled. She moved herself up so that her back was against the head board, taking the pillow from under her and hugging it to her chest as she sat with her legs crossed on the bed. Ricky moved himself so he was near the foot of the bed, laying across the bed on his side. He propped his head up with one arm and looked at Amy.

 _"_ _Is this about what happened with John this afternoon?"_

Amy wasn't sure were to start. There was so many things she needed to tell Ricky. There was also the matter of what Claire had told her about Adrian. It was bothering her that Ricky hadn't mention anything about it. But right now, at this moment Adrian was the least of her concerns. Especially with all that has transpired with John in the last 24 hours. She figured she should start with the phone call from Logan's mom.

 _"_ _Yeah about that, so I get a call_ _from_ _Amanda Clements, Logans mom"_

" _The kid in John's hockey team? His dad and I have an ongoing bet on which kid is going to have the most goals this season"_ Ricky chuckled.

Unbelievable, Amy thought, it was like she was lecturing John all over again.

" _Right so about that"_ Amy started " _Amanda basically told me that her son came home with John's hockey stick, because John lost it in a bet that they had. She was nice enough to want to give it back"_

"Okay? I mean he shouldn't have done it but its really not the worst thing in the world, right?" He could understand why Amy might be upset but from the way it sounded earlier he thought it was a little more serious. Frankly he was relieved that was all it was.

" _Okay well, it may not be the worst thing a nine year old could do but we need to stop this before it gets serious Ricky. Luckily it was over some silly game. What if they were daring each other to jump of bridges or god knows. I will not be responsible for a child getting hurt because they need to one up each other all the time"_

Ricky sighed " _No you're right. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. And frankly I don't think we should accept the stick back"_

 _"_ _It's a 200 dollar stick Ricky"_

 _"_ _John needs to know_ " Ricky replied point blank. " _And really a bet's a bet. John chose to make one and he lost. I mean if you're really wanting to teach him a lesson I think getting it back after he made a poor choice would just negate that. What's to stop him from doing it again if mommy and daddy can just reverse what he did?"_

Amy quietly considered what Ricky was saying then ran her fingers through her hair " _Yeah okay, well you're not wrong"_

Ricky laughed " _Unbelievable, you can't just swallow your womanly pride and just say You're right dear, you're absolutely right"_

Rolling her eyes Amy simply said " _Well it's been a while, alright_ ".

 _"_ _So what was the game?"_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _The game, this game John and Logan were playing_ " Ricky's mouth was twitching a little but he was trying hard not to smirk.

 _"_ _Now you're unbelievable! You think it's funny!"_

 _"_ _I just told you, I'd talk to him about it, that he's never to make bets again!"_ Ricky said now with an evident smile on his face.

 _"_ _Ricky! I know you, you're like proud of him or something. It's like this weird male thing you guys have. Like you're wondering if he could have won"_

 _"_ _Well aren't you?"_

 _"_ _No, actually I'm not. Besides he said he would have won if some other kid didn't get his ball in the way or something"_

 _"_ _See!"_

 _"_ _Ricky god, that's not the point I was trying to make"_

 _"_ _That's my boy"_ Ricky said full out laughing now.

Amy simply shook her head, in complete disbelief. It was like he had a 5 minute maturity limit and then he couldn't help himself. She still to this day, wonders how he survived four years practically on his own with John. Actually come to think about, she didn't want to know. It was probably just a bunch of getting John to do things by making crazy deals with him.

" _Seriously Ricky! Today it's just a hockey stick, next time it's a car, then after that who knows and before you or I know it we have a 25 year old with a gambling problem and instead of nice mothers calling us it's bookies looking to collect"_

Ricky started laughing at how worked up Amy was getting about this " _Geez Aimes, that's a little dramatic no?"_

Amy looked at him, narrowing her eyes " _Oh hey babe guess what, I have to do some sort of rigorous training tomorrow to become a volunteer at the fire station because I lost some bet and now I have to commit every Saturday, every week for like ever and then constantly complain over the next year about how I never have any time for anything"_ Amy said in a mocking voice, bringing up one of the most ridiculous bets Ricky has ever involved himself in " _but gotta follow through with it because gee whiz a bet's a bet_!" She made a hooking gesture with her arm.

 _"_ _Sound familiar?"_

 _"_ _Hey that's not fair! And besides it's one of the best bets I've ever lost_ " Ricky said, holding back a laugh but still smiling.

Amy simply shook her head. She really couldn't win. And to make matters worst, Ricky was right. He really did enjoy working as a volunteer at the local fire station. On top of that they were a really tight knit group and it was through the academy that they've met a lot of their really good friends now.

Amy decided it was time to change the topic.

 _"_ _Speaking of your boy, I want to talk to you about something else that happened with him the other day_ " Amy said, again getting serious _. "I think he's really having a hard time with the two of us spending so much time working"_

This time Ricky's expression was serious. He knew he hadn't been around a lot lately, especially for John and it seems the less time he was trying to spend at work the more time he had to be there.

" _Did he say something?"_

 _"_ _No, but you can just tell it's weighing on him. I think he misses you being there for him at his games. I tried to explain how much work you have right now and he seems to understand but I think we both need to make more of an effort to really be there for him. I'm actually cutting back on my responsibilities at the paper so I can be at home and not rushing around all the time"_

Ricky rubbed his face " _Yeah, I know. Hopefully now that I've gotten the contract extension things will settle down for a while. It's one less thing to worry about. Maybe I can see if I can take him to the fire house with me on Saturday"_

 _"_ _Well I'm sure he'll like that, but I think he has a game that morning"_

Ricky sighed " _Okay well I'll figure something out and I'll bring it up when I talk to him tomorrow about the betting thing"_

Amy now just noticed for the first time how tired and exhausted Ricky looked and her heart swelled a little. Amy crawled over to him, laying her body down right beside him so that Ricky could wrap his arms around her.

 _"_ _I know you're trying hard for us and John and I appreciate it. We really do. I know you'll figure it out"_

Ricky kissed the top of Amy's head. Sometimes he couldn't believe that this was his life. At 25 he had the perfect job, the perfect family. It was a perfect life really. Never in a million years at 16 did he think his life would turn out like this. At one point he didn't care if he spent his life in prison. He was definitely on the track towards that life. Then he met Amy and what seemed to be a big mistake at first, turned out to be the biggest blessing in his life.

He wanted it all. He almost has it all. He just didn't realize how hard it really was to enjoy having it all, without neglecting one thing or another. But he needed to make it work, because to loose his family is something he couldn't bare to go through again.

 **John and Ricky**

John was sitting cross legged on his bed playing on his ipad. He had just changed into his Pajamas and was waiting for his dad to come in and read with him before bed. He had just moved on to the next level of the game when his dad walked in. The lights were already off, but the room was somewhat illuminated from the glow coming from his night light and the lamp on his night stand. His face also glowing from the bright screen he was intensely staring at.

" _You know you're going to ruin your eyes sitting in the dark starring at the screen like that"_

 _"_ _You do it all the time with your laptop"_ John retorted back, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Laughing, Ricky plopped down on the bed beside him and watched him play for a few minutes. Putting his elbow on the pillow to prop himself up from behind John.

" _Oh right there, watch out for the green dragon behind you!"_ Ricky called out, forcing John to quickly press a few buttons to turn his character around and fire at the dragon before he turned into a pile of ashes.

" _YEAH_!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

A messaged popped up on the screen " _Mission Accomplish_ " before Ricky finally told John to shut the IPad off and put the device away, and then helped John get comfortable under his blanket.

" _So I was thinking instead of a book today we could just talk about some stuff, if that's alright"_

 _"_ _Uhm yeah okay, I guess?"_ John replied a bit confused.

 _"_ _How's school? Anything exciting happening?"_

 _"_ _Not really, I have a Math test on Friday but that's about it"_

 _"_ _Have you been studying for it?"_

 _"_ _Mom's been helping me with the practice questions my teacher sends home for homework. It's pretty easy so I think I'll do good"_

 _"_ _Oh good, sounds like you're ready"_ He paused for a bit before continuing _"Listen, I'm sorry I haven't been around for your hockey games lately and that I haven't been able to take you to your practices either. Believe me I'm really bummed about that"_

" _That's okay I know you have to work"_ John said understanding.

" _But I promise, I will be there for all your big games okay. I might not be able to make it every practice, or every game but I know when all your major tournaments are and I've already made sure to clear my schedule for them"_

John nodded at this " _Okay"._

Ricky figured that if he was going to spend a lot of time at work, he could at least fill John in on what he's been doing. So he began to tell him about all the projects he's been working on and the one big contract he just got.

 _"_ _Is it hard to come up with different ideas for all your clients?"_

" _Not really. They all have something that makes them unique. The hard part really is taking what that company stands for and translating it in the form of an ad that people will find interesting. Coming up with ideas is hard and takes a lot time and we have to come up with tons and tons of it before we settle on something we think is good enough to present back to our clients. But anyways enough about my work, want to tell me about this whole hockey stick bet ordeal?"_

John sighed and didn't know how to tell his dad he lost the new hockey stick his dad bought him in a bet.

 _"_ _Didn't mom tell you what happened?"_

" _Well yeah, but why don't you tell me what happened"_

 _"_ _Kay fine"_ John started sighing _"We were playing basketball in gym and I was timing Logan to see how many shots he can get in 10 seconds. He got like 6 or 7 or something like that and I told him that my best time was 10 shots in under 8 seconds and he didn't believe me so I said I've already done it before its not even hard. And its not! I do it like all the time!"_

Ricky just smiled at this. He recognized that compete level and the need to prove himself right.

" _So we ended up making a bet. If I won he was going to give me his signed hockey poster, and if I lost he wanted my new hockey stick. And I already did it so I didn't think I would loose. But then it wasn't even fair because my last shot didn't go in because this other kid threw a ball from the other side of the gym and ended up getting in the way"_

 _"_ _Did it feel good to give your stick away after you lost?"_

 _"_ _No obviously not"_

 _"_ _Do you think you would have felt better if you had won and ended up with Logan's signed poster?"_

John was about to say what he thought was an obvious answer, but then he wasn't sure.

 _"_ _I don't know. I mean I know how much Logan loves that poster, Quick is his absolutely favorite player. He told me he like spent 2 hours in line to get it signed, so I'd feel bad taking it away from him"_

Ricky was relieved, it was exactly the kind of answer he was hoping for.

" _Listen I know you and I have these small fun bets all the time, but it's all for fun right? I've never asked you for anything that is important to you. We have bets for cookies, or hugs, or a kiss…little things that you would do anyways - bet or no bet right?"_

 _"_ _Well yeah…"_

 _"_ _So what me and your mom is saying is that, if something doesn't feel right or someone is going to feel bad in the end then it's probably not worth it. And that goes for any situation, not just making a bet with someone. I want you to think about that every time you do something with one of your friends. You understand what I'm saying?"_

John nodded _"Yeah I get it"_

 _"_ _Alright so Logan's mom actually offered to give you back the hockey stick"_

 _"_ _Really?"_ John said smiling and getting excited.

" _Wait…but we also told her that we don't think we should get it back"_

 _"_ _What! Why?"_ John said getting up from the bed and looking perplexed at his dad _. "Why would you say that?"_

 _"_ _Because you already made a choice and I think we need to stick by it. You choose to give your hockey stick away, and you lost so you lost it. Listen I get it, loosing isn't fun. But that's the consequence of what you did. Also it's also not entirely fair to Logan to just simply ask him to give back something he TECHINICALLY did win_ " Ricky said emphasizing the word technically. " _Your mom and I had a chat and we also think that this time if you still want a new stick then you're going to have to buy it yourself"_

" _DAD! I don't even have nearly enough money! What am I suppose to play with?"_

 _"_ _You can do chores for money. You, me and your mom are going to sit down and come up with a list of chores you can do. For small chores you'll get paid $5.00, and big chores will earn you $10.00. In the mean time, you can use the stick you have"_

" _But that's not fair! If I got Logan's hockey poster, I would give it back!"_ And he really would. John knew he wouldn't feel good about taking something like that from his friend.

" _Actually your mom talked to Logan's mom today. We told her that while it was NICE of her to call and want to give it back, we didn't think it was a good idea because THEN you wouldn't really learn your lesson. His mom wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of keeping it. She talked about it with Logan and he actually came up with the idea of donating it to an organization that donates equipment to less fortunate families. His mom even said that he wanted to make sure that the organization knew that it was coming from both him and you. Which I think is really nice of him"_

John was quiet for a moment, a little surprised by what his dad told him.

" _Really? Well I guess that's alright. Okay fine I'll do the chores thing" He finally said lying back down on his bed._

 _"_ _Alright will sit around tomorrow and see what we come with okay. But now I think it's time for bed._


End file.
